


Sunshine and Petal

by VCCV



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Crystal and Sierra are the bad guys, Fluff and Angst, Girlfriend bashing, Kids using bad language, Lots of tears, M/M, Multi, OOC, Polyamorous family with kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:27:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 66,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24375778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VCCV/pseuds/VCCV
Summary: “And just like that, Michael became a dad.”Only it wasn’t anywhere close to that easy. Michael adopts two little girls in desperate need of a family, and in turn, realizes just how much he needed one as well. Luke and Calum are there every step of the way to love and support him, but really…this is a love story between Michael and his girls.
Relationships: Michael Clifford/Luke Hemmings/Calum Hood
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Crystal and Sierra are portrayed completely OoC in this fic. In no way do I believe these lovely ladies harbor any of the opinions given to them in this fic. I am pleased that the boys are in loving, happy relationships IRL, and wish them all the best. Please take any and all character bashing with half a kilo of salt, and recognize that any unpleasantness is but a machination to move the fic along.

Michael wiped his sweating hands on his pant legs and pushed the taxi door shut. The case worker assigned to him from Child Protection and Family Support, Ms. Fordalle, stepped forward and gave him a tight smile. “Mr. Clifford. I hope you slept well.” She extended her hand. Michael gave a final swipe to his own and shook it. 

“Not really,” he laughed a bit self-consciously. “I was pretty excited.” 

Ms. Fordalle pressed her lips together and her face went stern. “Mr. Clifford,” she began, clutching her manila file folder tightly. “I have to warn you. We’ve spoken about both children in a rather abstract manner, thus far. My supervisors made it very clear that I was to do so.”

Michael frowned. “Is there something wrong? Do they need special care?”

Ms. Fordalle sighed and glanced down at her folder. “In a manner of speaking, I suppose that would not be far from the truth. Mr. Clifford,” she stated, looking pained. “These children have a history that was not fully disclosed to you. Granted, it’s wonderful to make a fresh start with a new family, but I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t warn you.”

Michael gave a nervous laugh. “You’re scaring me, Ms. Fordalle.”

She shook her head and looked toward the house, where the foster parents had stepped out onto the porch, frowns on their own faces. “The smaller one, Eleanor, is an absolute delight,” Mrs. Fordalle lowered her voice a bit. “She’s such a dear child and she would have been adopted long before now if she hadn’t thrown such a fuss at being separated from her older sister.”

Michael frowned, confused. “Okay, but why would you want to separate them?”

“To be quite frank, Mr. Clifford, the older child is a hellion,” Ms. Fordalle raised her chin. “She’s rude, disrespectful, angry, and at times violent.” 

Michael blinked, rapidly. “Is there a reason you waited until we were in the foster parents’ front yard to tell me this?” he asked, a bit frustrated.

Ms. Fordalle sighed and looked back to the house, where two little girls had joined the adults on the porch. The small one, her smile shining brightly. The older one, glaring back at the caseworker. “I was warned not to tell you at all,” she retorted. “But I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t give you the option.”

“What option?” Michael continued frowning, looking at the two little girls as well. They both had long, blonde hair and were very petite. If he didn’t know better from the ages on the paperwork, he’d never have guessed the elder was ten. She looked at least two years younger. Until you got to the nasty glare on her face. Then she actually looked a bit more worldly than ten.

“I wanted to give you the option of choosing to only adopt Eleanor.” If Michael had any doubt whether or not the girls could hear them that far away, it was washed away in that moment. Eleanor’s face crumpled. The elder, Lily, sneered, baring her teeth as she pulled her sister closer to her. 

Michael turned incredulously to the caseworker. “Are you serious, right now?”

The woman pressed her lips together again, narrowing her eyes. “I am very serious, Mr. Clifford. It would only be a moment to tear up those particular papers. No one would think worse of you for it. We are determined to get Eleanor adopted. She deserves a good home with good parents and the opportunity to grow and thrive. She cannot get that if her sister continues to be a weight around her neck.”

She pinned her eyes on Lily. “That… _child_ is the worst kind of news. I am not the first caseworker to attempt to place her. I’m not even the 10th caseworker. She’s chosen her path, and it’s not one that little Eleanor deserves to be dragged down. So,” she straightened up, looking right into Michael’s horrified eyes. “I am telling you right now, both to clear my conscience and to give that little girl a chance, that it is an option for you to adopt only Eleanor.”

Michael looked back to the porch. The parents were frowning unhappily and muttering between themselves. The woman had placed her hands on Eleanor’s shoulders and tugged her away from Lily. Lily was still glaring, but her eyes were full of resigned sadness, as though she were just protesting because it was expected.

He turned back to the caseworker. “I don’t even know what to say to you, right now,” Michael shook his head. “That is singularly the shittiest thing I have ever heard uttered in my life. I have never been so disgusted by another human being as I am right now by you, and I work in the entertainment business.” 

The caseworker went bright red and began huffing. “Mr. Cliff-”

“No! Hell, no,” Michael cut her off. “I don’t want to hear another word out of your fucking mouth. You disgust me. I think the problem here is you. Your job right now is to give me my two girls, and then you can get the hell away from us and never worry about them again.”

She pulled herself up and pointed her nose into the air. “Very well, Mr. Clifford,” she said, coldly. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” She spun away from him and marched up to the porch. “Eleanor. Lily. Come meet your new adopted father.”

The little one leaped off of the porch, pulling out of the foster mother’s grip, and threw herself at Michael. He grinned at her and knelt down to wrap his arms around her. She practically vibrated in his arms and he was reminded of Luke and his sheer joy to experience the world. “Hi, Eleanor,” he said into her curls. 

“Lily calls me Ellie,” she announced, pulling back to beam at him. 

“Okay, then. Ellie, it is!” he grinned at her. “I’m Michael. Are you ready for a long plane ride this morning?” 

She bounced in his arms and squealed. “I’ve never been on a plane before! Lily!” she turned in the circle of his arms and waved her sister forward. “Lily, we get to ride on a plane!”

Michael watched the older sister pick up two fairly small suitcases and snarl at the caseworker as she descended the stairs. She moved to about six feet away from Michael and dropped the suitcases, folding her arms. “Michael, is it?” she asked, a chill in her voice.

Michael smiled and nodded anyway. “Yep, that’s me. And you’re Lily?”

She rolled her eyes. “Obviously.”

Michael bit the inside of his cheek, but forced the smile to stay on his face. “I’ll put your suitcases in the taxi if you want to go say goodbye to your foster parents,” he offered, standing up. “Are the rest on the porch?”

Lily gave a snort and snatched the bags up out from under Michael’s reaching hands. “This is all we have. And I have no desire whatsoever to say goodbye to those people. C’mon, Ellie,” she ordered as she turned away. Ellie shrugged, and fell in behind her, waving at the couple on the porch. Michael looked up at the adults, a bit saddened and confused that all these two girls owned fit in two tiny suitcases. The parents turned and went back into the house. The caseworker gave a smirk and mouthed ‘told you’ before making her way to her own car. 

And just like that, Michael became a dad.


	2. Chapter 2

The ride to the airport was made even longer by the cold silence emanating from the back seat. Michael had tried to help both girls into the car only to be snippily informed by Lily that she’d been taking care of her sister for a long time, and didn’t need anyone’s help. Michael quietly nodded, not willing to die on that hill so soon into their acquaintance; Instead, he climbed into the front seat next to the driver.

The driver raised his eyebrows at Michael and gave a better-you-than-me shrug before taking off for the airport. Michael’s first few attempts at drawing either girl into conversation bombed horribly as Lily gave short, one-word answers and glared at Ellie when she attempted to answer. Eventually, the only sound were the tires on the pavement and the occasional honk of a horn.

While he sat, aimlessly watching the scenery go by, he wondered what the hell he’d gotten himself into. When his mother called him, all those months ago, he had no idea how she thought he could solve her problem. Her younger sister--drug addicted, perpetually broke, always unemployed and estranged from the family for more years than Michael had been alive—had died of an overdose. While sad, he didn’t know her and couldn’t understand why his mom was calling _him_ in the middle of the night in tears. 

Apparently, the sister—Emma—had two children she’d been working to get back out of foster care. Karen Clifford was a family person first and foremost, and having to live all those years not knowing where Emma was or how she was doing had been slowly killing her. Now to find out that Emma had children? And children left to the mercy of the foster system? Children who weren’t with family? Well, that was just too much. 

Karen had been taking care of her husband, Darryl, after some heart troubles and knew, though she would love to, that she couldn’t take care of her nieces like they needed. But Michael, who had the financial stability and a new fiancé to play mommy, was just perfect. So, she begged Michael to consider adopting the girls. 

At first, Michael thought his mother must have gone insane and didn’t even bother to tell Crystal about it. But, after a great deal of soul-searching, some extra guilting from Karen, and a weeks-long discussion with the boys in the band…Michael decided that this may very well be the reason fate allowed him to have all his dreams answered: so he could help these two lost little girls find their dreams. Luke and Calum and Ashton agreed with him and whole-heartedly supported his bid to adopt them. The more he thought about it, the more certain he became, until finally, after he’d already begun the paperwork with the Australian court system and Child Protection and Family Support, he told Crystal. 

That…could have gone better. 

Crystal was nowhere nearly as excited as Michael. As a matter of fact, Crystal was pretty pissed off. Not only that Michael had made this decision without her, but that nothing she could say curbed his enthusiasm in the slightest. 

They spent weeks arguing back and forth until Crystal just threw her hands up and said she was done. If he brought those girls back to her home, they were finished. But Michael, in his heart, was sure that Crystal would fall in love with them as soon as she saw them. 

So, six months later when the paperwork was finished, he explained his compulsion one more time to Crystal, tried to look positively upon the fact that she didn’t scream at him this time, took two days off from recording and flew to Australia to pick up his new daughters.

A whole day of filling out finalizing paperwork, and he was so excited that he couldn’t eat or sleep the night before he took a taxi to the foster home. But now? After the very chilly first meeting with the girls, he was starting to be a bit concerned.

***********

The taxi driver dropped them off at the airport with luggage, passports, paperwork and empty stomachs. Michael herded the girls into a restaurant after they’d checked in, and ordered everyone breakfast. Before they could dig in, two fans came up asking for pictures. Michael posed with a smile for each of them and wished them well with their day before he excused himself back to his plate. He could see the interest they had in the two little girls with him, but he didn’t divulge anything, not wanting to start the paparazzi nightmare any sooner than necessary.

Ellie happily stuffed her face with chocolate chip pancakes while Lily nibbled at blackberry jam on toast. When Ellie was through, she started humming nursery rhymes and coloring on her placemat with the crayons the waitress had provided when they sat down. Michael grinned at her bopping little head. “Do you like singing, Ellie?” he asked. 

She beamed up at him. “Yes!” she replied, and went back to coloring.

He looked over to Lily. “How about you, Lily? Is singing your thing, too?”

She carefully put her food down and pushed the plate away, crossing her arms as she did so. “Why do you care?” she sneered.

Michael was stumped for a moment, then shyly shrugged. “I just wanted to get to know you. Both of you,” he shot a look back at Ellie, who’d stopped humming and was clutching her crayon a bit more tightly as she colored. He met Lily’s eyes again. “Music is kind of my life. I’ve been in a band for eight years. I thought…I thought we might have something in common.”

Lily snorted. “The only thing we have in common is that we’re both trapped in this ridiculous joke of an ‘adoption’. I know what’s going to happen, _Michael_ ,” she scoffed. “You’ll get us all the way to Los Angeles and realize just how much we don’t fit into your ‘band life’, then you’ll call your lawyers and get the adoption annulled. Next thing we know, we’re back on a plane to Australia and you go on with your life like you were never bothered with us in the first place.”

Michael stared in shock, his jaw dropping as she laid it out for him. He shook his head, unable to hide his hurt this time. “Why would you think I’d do that to you?” he asked.

Lily rolled her eyes. “Because that’s what they all do. They’re all so noble and self-sacrificing, offering to take in two poor, suffering children.” She huffed out a disgusted sigh. “They make a huge deal out of it; tell everyone they know how great they are for showing mercy to two underprivileged waifs. And for the first day or two, it’s fine. They focus on how wonderful they think they are, and how grateful they think we are. Then, the truth starts to trickle out.”

“And what’s the truth?” Michael asked softly. 

“That we don’t _need_ anyone,” Lily glared, leaning forward. “We’ve been taking care of ourselves way longer than they’d even known there was a problem. I don’t need a parent, _Michael_. I’ve been a parent since I was six. The only thing I need adults for is money. I don’t need mothering. I don’t need a firm hand. I don’t need to be taught how to behave appropriately. I already know how to behave appropriately. I _choose_ not to.”

Michael couldn’t fight the grin that grew on his face. Lily narrowed her eyes. “What’s so funny about that?”

Michael shrugged. “Nothing really. Just, for a moment, you sounded like me. I’ve spent a lot of time yelling that same thing at authority figures my whole life.”

Lily tilted her head cautiously. “And were you right?”

Michael reluctantly nodded. “Yeah. I’ve pretty much been in charge of myself since I was your age. My parents worked a lot. I was home by myself most of the time. By the time me and the boys started the band, I was ready to be on my own.” He finished off his drink, making a slurping sound that made Ellie giggle. He shot a smile at her, then turned back to Lily. 

“When I moved to England at 16, no one was all that surprised. I understand the frustration you must feel, knowing you’re fully capable of taking care of yourself, and constantly trying to prove it to everyone.” Lily looked slightly mollified; enough so that she took a drink of her own soda. 

“There was one thing I could have used as a kid, though. Michael added. She narrowed her eyes again. “I could have used a friend. I mean, I had Cal. We spent a lot of time hanging out with each other. We were good friends. But I was always afraid to tell him how I really felt,” a bit of melancholy slipped in. “Could I take care of myself? Yeah. Did I like it? Sometimes. Other times, it was just too fuc—er, too much,” he caught himself at the curse word and looked a bit wide-eyed at Lily. She smirked at his flushed face. 

He continued on, mentally smacking himself for the language. “I didn’t want to have to be the one to remember if we had groceries. Or if I had a doctor appointment. I wanted to have fun and be carefree. I wanted to hand the reins over to someone else once in a while.” 

He sighed and twirled his straw in his glass. “I know you don’t want a parent. A biological one, or a foster one or even an adopted one. And I understand that. But, could you use a friend, maybe?” he asked, a plea in his voice. “Someone who could help you out occasionally, when it’s just too much, or you’re tired, or you need advice? Someone to help you make sure your sister gets everything she deserves, and all the happiness in the world? Could I be that guy?”

He never got the answer to that as their flight was announced over the loudspeaker. Silently, they made their way to the boarding queue. People flashed their cameras at them, but no one approached them. Lily frowned at them. “Does that happen everywhere you go?” she demanded. 

Michael flushed. “Yeah, usually. I told you I was in a band, yeah?” Lily nodded. “Yeah, well we’re pretty popular. Lots of paps, lots of fans.” Lily nodded, slowly, reaching out to grab Ellie’s hand and pulling her closer. Just in case of what, she didn’t know. But it made her feel better. 

They entered the plane and Michael gave the girls the option of where to sit. Ellie bounced over to the window and Lily pointedly plopped down between her and Michael. Michael just smiled and took the aisle seat. Eventually, the plane started up and taxied down to the runway. Ellie was beyond excited, but Lily was paling to white and looking queasy. When the plane picked up speed, he could see her begin to sweat.

Surreptitiously, he set his hand on their shared armrest and, a moment later, was rewarded with a small hand wrapping around his. He kept the pleased smile off of his face as he closed his fingers around hers tightly and let her squeeze the hell out of his hand. Once they were in the sky and the seatbelt light went off, she jerked her hand out of his. He still didn’t speak, calmly letting her sit, arms crossed, frowning at her own perceived weakness.

“The flight is just over 13 hours,” he said, eventually. “You could take a nap, or watch a movie. Food should be in a few hours.”

“I want to watch a movie!” Ellie bounced in her seat.

Lily sighed. “Do we have to?” 

Ellie pouted and Michael couldn’t stand it. “I’ll watch it with you, Ellie. Lily, you can use my phone if you’d like,” he offered. Warily agreeing, Lily swapped places with Michael so Ellie and he could use the headphone jack together. Once they were immersed in the video, Lily went wild. 

She went through everything on his phone. All his photos, all his saved notes—which she was assuming were lyrics. She even got into his email. She was beyond surprised to realize that, for weeks, all he and ‘Luke’ and ‘Calum’ and ‘Ashton’ had been doing were exchanging emails on how excited they were to welcome the girls to the states and to their lives. Michael was so nervous about meeting them, scared but still happy to be given the chance to give them a good life. 

She almost had a moment of hope…then she saw the emails from ‘Crystal’, and that little told-you-so voice on her shoulder went off. Crystal seemed to be Michael’s fiancé. And she did _not_ like the idea of welcoming the girls to anything. As a matter of fact, Lily didn’t know if someone she’d never met had ever hated her so badly. 

Crystal clearly wanted nothing to do with them. She refused to be a mother to ‘some crack whore’s kids’, and how Michael better think twice before coming back home with them. 

Angry, but sadly vindicated, she left his emails and headed over to find his Twitter and Instagram. There was nothing about them there, but it did link her with some of his fans. The band was a whole lot more popular than Michael had made them seem. 

Amusingly enough, Michael posted more pics of his dogs than his girlfriend, but once Lily saw her, she had no idea why anyone would think Michael would give up marriage to _that_ for a couple of kids he’d just met. 

She poked around some more, following fan links and discovered some fans’ Messiah complex toward Michael for having saved lives with his music. Interested in spite of herself, she went exploring. She found a link to a song he wrote, _Jet Black Heart_ , that seemed to be the anthem of Michael-worshippers everywhere. 

She snagged a set of earphones from the airplane’s cubby and hit YouTube to find it. Less than a minute into it and she could feel the sting of tears. She hated that she could relate. It sort of infuriated her that every little new thing she was finding out about her new ‘parent’ was positive. That was going to make being a total bitch more difficult in the coming days. 

She continued surfing YouTube and found a list of their most popular songs. Grumpily, she settled down to do some research, but she’d been exhausted for days. Knowing that they’d have to start the whole merry-go-round of new ‘parents’ again had kept her up at night. Eventually, she fell asleep to the sound of the man beside her singing _Jet Black Heart_ again.

Michael glanced over at the end of the movie to see what Ellie thought of it and found her sound asleep. Her hair had fallen over her face and with a gentle hand and a soft smile, Michael tucked the blonde curls behind her ear. He dug out a complimentary blanket and draped it over her, and then gently removing the earphones and tucking them away. 

Then, he turned to Lily. She, too, had fallen asleep, his phone in her lap and earbuds in. When he went to take back his phone, his heart melted to hear 5SOS coming out tinnily out of the speakers. He covered her with a second blanket and settled down between his girls for his own nap.

A few hours later found him blinking slowly awake, brought out of sleep by a flight attendant informing him of dinner service. He thanked her and took three menus before gently shaking the girls awake. Lily demanded to sit next to Ellie again, so Michael switched with her. Then, she snatched the menu he handed her and huddled up with Ellie to read it to her. Or at least she tried. 

After her fifth stumble over a foreign word, she growled and smacked Michael with the menu. “What the hell is this?” she demanded, pointing at a foreign word. 

Michael squinted his eyes and grinned. “I don’t think you want that. It’s generally served raw.” Ellie’s face scrunched up as she eww’d over that, but Lily’s expression just got stormier. 

“Of course, _you’d_ know the fancy schmancy snob words,” she bit out. 

Michael gave a small shrug. “I really only learned to identify dishes so I’d know what not to get. I do like sushi. But generally, I’d rather have Macca’s. Lily huffed at him and continued to scan the menu for something she vaguely recognized the ingredients in.

When the flight attendant returned, she still hadn’t figured it out. Embarrassed, she nearly threw the menu at Michael. “I’m not hungry,” she grumped, turning to stare out the window. Michael carefully plucked the menu up and stacked it with his own. 

“Can we get three orders of the tomato bisque, the Gruyere and white cheddar ziti, and the raspberry cheesecake?” he asked, quietly. 

“Of course, Mr. Clifford,” the attendant smiled, showing too many very white teeth, which then bit into her very red lower lip. Lily’s head turned on dime at the sultry tone in the woman’s voice. “Can I get you a drink, as well?” The woman leaned forward. Lily looked over at Michael to see if he was eating this up.

His face was bright red and he was trying not to make eye contact. He had pasted an obviously fake smile on his face and was even pressing slightly away into Lily’s shoulder. “Oh, no, thank you. I’d rather just have a soda with my girls.”

“Oh, come now, Mr. Clifford,” the woman teased, reaching out to lay a hand on his shoulder. “It’s a long flight, you’ll be just fine if you have one or two.” Lily could actually see him flinch away from the lacquered nails on his arm. While she’d been highly amused at first, she all-too-well understood being touched when you didn’t want it. 

“He said he wanted a fricking soda, lady. Make it three.” The attendant jerked upright and blinked rapidly as Lily stared knives into her eyes.

“Oh…of…of course,” she gave a slightly less piranha-like smile. “Right away.” 

The three of them sat in silence until the woman came back. Lily, irritated at the liberties the woman was taken; Ellie, because she understood Lily was mad, but not quite why; Michael, because he’d just had to have a 10-year-old girl save him from an overzealous fan. 

When she arrived, she quickly placed the drinks on napkins that she laid in front each of them. Michael was still trying not to make eye contact but Lily had laser focus, so she caught the shifty eyed side glance as the woman placed Michael’s drink in front of him. 

“Your dinner will be ready in about five minutes,” she said politely, seemingly trying to will Michael into looking at her.

“Thank you,” Michael replied, futzing with the glass.

As soon as she walked away, Lily lifted up his drink and snatched the napkin up. Michael looked at her curiously, but didn’t attempt to stop her. She turned the napkin over and blurted out, “Ha!” She practically shoved the napkin under Michael’s nose, and he crossed his eyes trying to see it. Eventually, he made out a series of digits scrawled on the paper--in pink ink, of all things.

“If she knows who you are, doesn’t she know you’re engaged?” Lily demanded. “Why didn’t you just tell her to piss off?”

Michael lifted a shoulder, the red flaming up in his face again. “It happens a lot. I try not to make them mad. Especially on long flights.” Lily hmphed but let it go. Although, she held on to the napkin until the attendant came back with a huge tray holding their food. 

After she’d set the soups down in front of them, the woman leaned into Michael’s seat. “Is there…anything else I can get you?” she asked, rather breathily if you asked Lily. 

“Yeah,” Lily leaned over into Michael’s lap to meet her. “You can get him another napkin.” She held out the pink numbered one and wadded it into a ball. With her best sneer, she tossed it at the woman, who barely caught it. “This one seems to be dirty.” 

The woman’s face flared even redder than Michael’s, and she nearly bowed as she backed away. “Of course, Miss. Right away. My apologies for this…oversight.” As she scuttled away, Michael let out a tiny snort and Lily glared at him until he slapped his hand up over his mouth to hide the grin. 

“What?” Lily snapped. “It’s not okay!” 

Michael got himself mostly under control and nodded seriously. “I understand. Thank you for protecting my virtue,” he gave another giggly snort. Lily rolled her eyes and tried to ignore the tiny warmth blossoming in her chest.

After dinner had been cleared away, Ellie begged to watch another movie. This time, Michael let her watch it alone and instead, tried to engage Lily by talking about home. He’d gone through his house, his dogs, his friends, his work…nearly everything in his life, before finally ending on a small note about Crystal. Having read the emails, Lily just gave him a piercing look. He quickly jumped topic to telling her all about his bandmates. 

Eventually, she began to wonder if he was really engaged to Luke and Calum. His single comment about Crystal had been made with a hopeful tone and a mediocre smile. He came to life going on and on about Luke and Calum. His face lit up and his arms were flailing about. He laughed and he got loud and his eyes sparkled when he spoke of them. 

Almost against her will, Lily found herself asking small questions about them. Michael acted as though she’d handed him the crown jewels. She was pretty sure he had more stories than they had flight time. Eventually, her eyes got heavy again, and she fell asleep somewhere between a teasing story about some ‘sensational’ shirt Calum kept wearing and how Luke loved glitter boots.

Michael was interrupted in his story of Luke and his women’s glitter boot craze by the thunk of a small weight on his shoulder. He glanced over to see Lily’s shining head fallen over to rest on him as she slept. His heart felt like it might burst and he maneuvered his phone out to take a picture of his two lovely ladies sleeping. He sent it to Luke, Calum and Ashton and, after some thought, to Crystal. 

Ashton replied with heart-eye emojis and kissy faces. Luke and Calum immediately sent messages cooing over how precious they were. Crystal…saw it…then didn’t respond. Giving a sigh, he spent the next couple of hours texting Luke and Calum everything that had happened in the time he’d been gone. 

Once the plane arrived at LA, Michael gently put the seat belts on the girls. He hoped Lily would stay asleep during the descent. His luck held, and she woke up as the wheels touched the ground. She jerked up and stared in horror at the tiny wet spot she’d made on Michael’s shirt sleeve. Bright red, she refused to acknowledge it, turning instead to wake up Ellie.


	3. Chapter 3

Michael managed to dodge the paparazzi, but a couple of fans spotted them walking through the terminal to parking. He waved but didn’t stop moving. He had snagged Ellie’s suitcase and Ellie herself only after nearly begging Lily to consider that moving at the speed of a four-year-old would cause them to be caught by every fan with a phone. 

They made it to the parking lot and he searched hopefully for Crystal’s face. What he found was a hired car with a sign up for ‘Clifford’. He shrugged his disappointment off and piled the girls and luggage into the car before climbing in the front seat again. This time, he filled the silence with stories of Moose and Southy, Petunia and Duke that Ellie hadn’t heard the first time since she was napping.

Lily just stared out the window, trying to guess the level of shit they were walking into per the viciousness of Crystal’s posts that she’d read. They pulled up into a circular drive and parked in front of a large two-story house surrounded in foliage. Michael hopped out immediately and opened the doors for the girls. The driver climbed out and removed the luggage before shaking Michael’s hand and driving away.

Michael turned a beaming smile on them. “We’re home, girls!” he said, rubbing his hands together. Ellie bounced up and down in excitement. Lily just pursed her lips as she watched Michael step up to the door and jiggle the handle.

He shot a hesitant look back at them, but kept smiling and rolled his eyes. “Silly me. Of course, it would be locked,” he scoffed as he rifled through his pockets. “Darn it,” his smile slipped a bit. “I guess I left my keys inside.” He rang the doorbell twice and knocked as well. He faced the door completely and started rocking back and forth on his heels. He waited maybe 30 seconds, then knocked and rang it again. He looked back at the girls; his smile gone brittle. “Maybe she’s just in the bathroom,” he offered. “I texted her before we left the airport. She’s expecting us.” He left off the doorbell and pounded again on the door, calling out Crystal’s name. 

Nothing. 

He stepped back, a worried frown on his face, and saw the girls watching him. Immediately, he plastered the smile from the encounter with the flight attendant on his face and held up his phone. “I’m just gonna call her, again,” he said, stepping away from the front door. He looked up to a second-story window as he did, and Lily followed his gaze to see a beautiful blonde woman framed by the curtains. She stared down at the three of them before lifting a phone to her ear.

“Crystal!” Michael cried out in relief. “There you are. Were you in the bathroom? Never mind, it doesn’t matter. I’m here with the girls! It was a pretty long trip. Could you please come down and let us in. I forgot my keys.” Lily could see Crystal respond to him. And thought she couldn’t hear what the woman was saying, she had a pretty good idea by the confused, then frightened look that appeared on Michael’s face.

“Ellie,” she called softly, not taking her eyes off of the side of Michael’s face. “Why don’t you go over there and look at those flowers by the side of the house.” Ellie gave her sister a look that clearly conveyed what she thought of being sent away during something exciting, but when it became clear that Lily wasn’t going to do her the courtesy of looking at her to see her displeasure, she sighed and headed off to the flowers.

“What?” Michael hissed. “No! I told you what I was doing. You knew—Crystal, they’re family! What?! Why the fuck are you bringing Luke and Cal into this? What do they— No! I won’t do that!” His voice raised and Lily crossed her arms protectively, watching him get redder as he got louder. 

“Why? Because I’m not a fucking dick, that’s why! I can’t—No! I can’t—Goddamnit, Crystal, I made a promise! I know I did. And no, my promise to you wasn’t any less important, but—” He ran his fingers through his hair, knocking his baseball hat off. “You’re being unreas—Yes, you! What? You…you can’t…why would you…what? Crystal! You don’t mean—What? But it’s my house! But—But—Crystal? Crystal, are you there?” 

He turned away; fingers gripped tightly to his phone. He closed his eyes tightly for long moments, in which Lily saw Crystal jerk the curtain closed upstairs. He then shoved his phone into his pocket and bent down to pick up his hat and place it on his head. She could see him taking a few deep breaths before he turned to face them, a painfully fake smile on his face. 

“Well, it looks like there’s been a change in plans, ladies,” he said, a jovial lilt to his voice that was obviously 100% made up. “I’m going to call my friend Luke and see if we can crash at his place for a bit.” 

Ellie smiled and chirped, “Okay!” before continuing with her flower sniffing. Lily looked at his reddened eyes and the hunch of his shoulders and tightened the cross of her arms.

“Sure, she replied, dryly. She could tell from his flinch that he knew she was well aware of what actually just happened. He stepped away again, further this time, and made pulled his phone out to make another call.

Michael let the smile drop from his lips as he turned his back to the overly perceptive young girl. He tried to get his thoughts in order as the phone rang, but when Luke answered, everything that made sense just fled. He held his breath instead of heaving sobs, so it took a few times of Luke calling his name before he could respond. Even then, he only managed a weak, “Lukey?” before his throat closed again. 

“Mikey? What’s wrong?” The concern in his friend’s voice was almost more than he could take. “I don’t know,” Michael heard him say in a quieter voice. “He’s crying, I think.” And Michael knew that Calum had to be there, as well. “Mikey, please, babe. What’s happened? Are you okay? Are the girls all right? Did something happen with Crystal?”

At that, Michael gave an unamused huff of laughter. “Yeah, you could say that,” he answered thinly, his throat tight with unshed tears. “She locked me out. I called her to let her know I was downstairs with the girls and she told me she knew. She saw me. She stood in the upstairs window and told me that she warned me not to bring them home. She said they weren’t staying here. That they were just some rando kids from a drugged up relative I used to have. They are my _family_ , Luke!”

He paused to hitch a painful breath. “She said they weren’t. They were just another ‘obligation’ that I made up. Like with the band. Like with you and Cal. She said you weren’t family, either. She told me to put them back on a plane to Australia and let someone else worry about them. But I _promised_ them, Luke. I promised I wouldn’t leave them like everyone else! That I’d give them a home. That I’d love them. I’m not sending them back, Luke!” He stopped when the whine he’d felt building in his throat threatened to slip out. 

“I know, Mikey,” came Luke’s soothing voice. “I know. Of course, you’re not. That’s fucking stupid. You would never do that. That’s not who you are,” he affirmed.

“She told me to choose,” Michael sadly continued when he’d gotten that sound under control. “Choose them or her. I told her she was being unreasonable. She said…she said we were done, Lukey.” He drew in a shuddering breath. “She said to take my ‘trash’ and get off of her property.”

“Trash?” Luke interrupted, incredulously. “She fucking called them…” Luke growled low in his throat. “That house is your property, Michael,” he settled on that, rather than what he wanted to say. “You own it.”

“She said I gave it to her, so it’s hers,” Michael replied miserably.

“Is it in her name?”

“No, but right now, I don’t care enough to fight her on it,” Michael answered. “I just want to get the girls somewhere safe; somewhere…not here.”

“You just hold on, Mikey. Cal and I are coming for you. We’ll be there in less than 30,” Luke promised. 

“Okay,” Michael said softly.

“We love you, Mikey,” Luke said, forcefully. “You just stay strong for those girls a little while longer. Then, we’ll have you. You can fall apart. I promise. Just wait for us, okay?”

“I love you, guys,” Michael whispered almost imperceptibly.

“We love you, too, babe. See you soon.”

***********

Luke and Cal played FIFA with Sierra looking on indulgently. She’d decided to sit in the overstuffed chair, this time, rather than nearly on top of Luke as she usually did. Luke supposed that was because he was with Cal, and not Michael. Sierra firmly detested the green-eyed guitarist and, while she wasn’t thrilled at having to share with anyone at all, Cal drew less ire than Michael. 

She knew that Luke and Michael had once upon a time been friends-with-benefits, and that enraged her. She avoided Michael like the plague, and whenever she was forced to be around him, she pointedly ignored him. Occasionally, Luke entertained the idea of letting her know that, really, all three of them were a thing. 

It started as Michael and Calum, scared in a new country and far away from everything they’d known. They’d taken comfort in one another. Soon, Calum had noticed Luke watching them with a slightly more than friendly eye. He put forth a suggestion to Michael that, even though Luke’s mom was here with him, maybe he could use something more than a friend. Michael approached the younger boy and began including him in his and Calum’s capers.

Soon, they were a solid threesome, much to Ash’s amusement. They’d offered to include him, as well, but Ash was 100% straight. He was very happy for the three of them, however, and the whole arrangement worked well for them. They lasted as a polyamory right up until Luke gave in to his chicken shit panic and said they needed a break. 

Michael began dating Crystal, and soon after, Luke started seeing Arzaylea. That was one nightmare he was glad was over. After her, Luke had taken some time to enjoy being single. Just as Luke was about to suggest that he, Cal and Michael take up again, Michael became really invested in Crystal. Luke wasn’t fond of Crystal, but Michael seemed happy so he did his best to be supportive. 

He’d just started seeing Sierra when Michael proposed to Crystal. Luke and Cal had congratulated him, then gone home and gotten quietly and extremely drunk. Luke wasn’t proud of what he did, but they ended up in bed together and, while it was comforting and familiar, it was also edged in sadness. They’d not repeated it again, not only because it ate Luke up inside that he’d cheated on Sierra, but because both of them knew without saying that it was just wrong not to have Michael with them. 

Soon after that, Luke started seriously dating Sierra. Cal stayed single. He told everyone he was just waiting for ‘the one’ to come along, but Luke knew that the one already had. Cal would always hold everyone up to Michael’s standard, and so, would never be satisfied. Even for short terms. So, Cal tended to third wheel all of them. He was polite about it, and even seemed to like Sierra, so she never made bones about it.

When Luke’s phone rang, he jumped to answer it, ignoring Cal’s tiny smirk that told him he, too, knew who was likely calling. “Michael, my man! You’re supposed to be getting the girls settled in. What are you doing calling me?” he asked, with a grin at Cal. Silence answered him. He frowned. “Mike? Michael, are you there?” 

Then he heard a faint, watery sounding, “Lukey?”

He sat upright, his spine stiffening. “Mikey? What’s wrong?” 

Calum leaned forward, worried frown in place after the second ‘Michael’. Now, he whispered, “Is he okay?”

“I don’t know,” Luke locked eyes with Calum. “He’s crying, I think. Mikey, please, babe. What’s happened? Are you okay? Are the girls alright? Something happen with Crystal?”

He watched Cal’s nose twitch at Crystal’s name and he gave a passing thought to ask later what that was about. Meanwhile, Michael went off. It was hard to hear him. He was nearly whispering, and his voice was clogged with tears. And, in typical Michael fashion when he was near tears, he started rambling. But Luke had learned to speak sad-Michael early on, though, so he was able to suss out the general idea.

“I promised them, Luke!” came out loud and clear, though. As did, “I’m not sending them back, Luke!”

“I know, Mikey. I know.” Luke reassured him. “Of course, you’re not. That’s fucking stupid. You would never do that. That’s not who you are.” Calum had scooted forward so far on the couch—trying to hear Michael—that Luke was sure he’d fall on his face. That thought was cut off as he laser-focused on the words that fell out of Michael’s mouth. 

“Trash? She fucking called them….” He cut himself off at the murderous haze that came over Calum’s eyes. Growling, he shook his head visibly and moved on. “That house is your property, Michael,” Luke reminded him. “You own it.”

“She says I gave it to her, so it’s hers,” Michael responded, weakly.

“Is it in her name?” Luke demanded. Calum had moved on to gritting his teeth.

“No, but right now, I don’t care enough to fight her on it. I just want to get the girls somewhere safe; somewhere…not here.”

Luke wished he could be there right that second, folding Michael up in his arms. Then he decided: there was no way that wasn’t going to happen. “You just hold on, Mikey. Cal and I are coming for you,” he promised, seeing agreement in Cal’s eyes. “We’ll be there in less than 30. We love you, Mikey. You just stay strong for those girls for a little while longer. Then we’ll have you. You can fall apart. I promise. Just wait for us, okay?” He was already standing, searching for his keys.

“I love you guys,” Michael whispered, almost imperceptibly.

“We love you, too, babe. See you soon.” He closed his phone out and snatched up his wallet. Behind him, he could hear Calum standing up.

“Um, excuse me?”

Confused for a moment, he then realized Sierra was still in the armchair. She didn’t look happy.

“What?” he paused.

Sierra’s face turned incredulous. “What?” she repeated. “What are you doing, is what!”

Luke frowned. “Crystal just broke up with Michael. She won’t let him in the house and he has the girls with him.”

Sierra’s eyebrows and shoulders came up. “And?”

Now Calum was frowning, too. “And, we’re going to go get them, clearly,” he snapped.

Sierra gave him a raised eyebrow. “You don’t live here, Calum. I do. And I haven’t been consulted on bringing Michael fucking Clifford into my house, much less two kids I don’t even know. Why can’t he get a hotel?”

Luke’s jaw dropped. “Because he’s fucking family? Because he’s always welcome at my home? Because those two girls have had a shitty time of it and getting shunted off to a hotel on their first night in the states is a horrible idea?”

Sierra rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why he’s surprised. Crystal made it very clear before he left that if he came home with those two brats, they were done. He should have made arrangements.”

“Are you fucking serious, right now?” Calum demanded incredulously.

“She warned him, he did it anyway,” Sierra defended her stance. “I don’t see why I’m being punished because he can’t get his shit figured out. I don’t want them here, either!” she snapped. 

“Well, I do,” Luke’s hand clenched around his keys.

“I get a say in this, too, Luke!” She jumped to her feet. “I live here!”

Luke snorted. “Not anymore, you don’t.” Sierra looked like she just ran face-first into a door. Even Calum looked surprised, but quickly covered it up. “We shouldn’t be more than an hour, maybe two. Make sure you have all your shit out by then. Anything you leave behind is going in the trash.”

Sierra fish-mouthed for a moment. “Are you seriously telling me I have to move out? So you can fucking move Michael Clifford in?”

“No,” Luke replied, moving toward the door again. “I’m telling you that you have to move out so I can move Michael _and_ his girls in, _and_ I’m breaking up with you.” He opened the door and called over his shoulder. “Two hours, Sierra. Be gone when we get back.”

Calum smirked at the gob smacked look on Sierra’s face and quietly followed Luke out the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Michael took a moment to compose himself before turning back around to the girls. It didn’t matter. Lily was still standing with her arms crossed, a barricade against the world. Her eyes held both resignation and anger. Next to her stood Ellie, done with looking at flowers at the first sound of Michael’s sob, and now watching him worriedly. He forced a smile on his face and stepped closer to them.

“So, my friends Luke and Cal are coming to get us. We’re going to stay with Luke for a while, until we can get the house situation figured out. Is that okay?” He mentally crossed his fingers that they just accepted it and moved on. He should have known better. 

Lily was far too astute to be only 10, and Ellie seemed to be able to smell sadness from a mile away. Lily just stared right through his soul, her steady gaze causing him to uncomfortably drop his own. Ellie hopped to his side and slid her tiny hand into his. “Did the lady not want us?” she asked, sadly, her bright blue eyes blinking up into his. She nodded. “It’s okay. Lots of people don’t want us. Are we going back to a foster family, now?” Michael stared in horror at her soothingly, understanding smile and Lily’s mildly triumphant smirk. 

He dropped to his knees and pulled Ellie into his arms. “Absolutely not!” He squeezed her tightly, then pulled back to look her in the eye. “I adopted you, little one. That’s permanent. We belong together. We’re family and you’re not going anywhere.”

Ellie frowned. “I won’t stay if Lily can’t stay with us.”

Michael felt his throat tighten up again and he could hardly see from the blur of tears in his eyes. “Listen to me, Ellie. Both you and Lily are going to be with me for a long, long time. I made you a promise and I will not break that promise. I adopted _both_ of you. I want _both_ of you.”

“It’s okay, Michael,” Lily offered bitterly. “It’s early. We won’t hold it against you. Just don’t take too long. Ellie gets attached.” Her words were cold, but the pain in her eyes belied them. Michael reached out carefully, moving slowly, but she still flinched a bit. Then her chin came up and she held statue still as he cupped her cheek. 

“It breaks my heart that you feel like that, Lily,” he said, quietly. “But I understand why. I know you don’t believe me now, and that’s okay. I have to earn your trust. But I will never get rid of you. I will never send you back. And I will never stop trying to prove to you that you are loved.” He smiled into her unbelieving eyes and ran his thumb over her cheek like he was brushing away an invisible tear. 

He stood and took Ellie’s hand in his. “Let’s sit on the steps until the boys get here. Ellie, tell me which flower you like best.” He had no idea what he was getting into. Apparently, Ellie was a future florist. She adored flowers and knew more about them at four than most adults, including Michael. Almost half an hour later, he was still staring wide-eyed as four-year-old Ellie schooled him on annuals, perennials, flower meanings and shades of color. Lily laughed quietly in the background, and for that alone, Michael would have listened all day. 

A dark blue SUV pulled up into the driveway, pulling Ellie’s attention away. Michael very carefully did not make a relieved face; but he could tell Lily knew he wanted to. She practically bent in half trying to keep from letting her belly laugh out.

“Who’s that?” Ellie pointed at the well-built, blue-haired man and the lanky, leather wearing man climbing out of the vehicle. 

Michael would have replied, but as soon as he’d gotten to his feet, Luke broke into a run and swept Michael up in a huge, bone-crushing hug. It was the most amazing feeling. Michael could feel his terror just draining away. And when Calum flung his arms around both of them, the dam broke. Tears began falling down Michael’s face like a flood. His body jerked with the force of the silent sobs he felt safe enough to release at last. Luke carefully eased Michael into Calum’s protective embrace and turned to face the two wide-eyed little girls watching them.

His own eyes lit up when he saw them and he practically skipped over to them. “Hello, ladies!” He bowed, which made Ellie giggle. “I’m Luke, that’s Calum,” he gestured behind him. “You must be Ellie?” He held out his hand and, when Ellie placed hers in it, he lifted it to his lips and gave it a smacking kiss. She giggled again and nodded. 

“Yup! I’m Ellie. This is my sister Lily.” Luke released her hand to bow again, and Lily rolled her eyes. She had the tiniest glimmer of a smile at the corners of her mouth, but she kept her arms crossed. 

“Charmed, I’m sure,” she said, snarkily. 

Luke grinned. “Oh, you’re gonna be a fun one, aren’t you?” 

She shrugged, but met his smirk. “So, we’re staying with you?” she asked. Luke nodded his head so fast that his curls bounced. Lily was disarmingly reminded of Ellie. 

“For as long as you want.”

She snorted. “For as long as Michael wants,” she corrected. “I give it a week before we’re on a plane back to Australia.” 

Luke blinked, confused, and a huff came from behind him. “Lily, I told you—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” She rolled her eyes again. “‘Forever and always’. We’ll see.” Michael moved up to them with a sigh, his eyes rimmed with red and his lashes clumping wetly. He reached a hand out and smoothed her hair down. To her credit, and his joy, she didn’t flinch this time, just rolled her eyes again.

“So, you’re Calum?” she changed the subject. Cal nodded, his hands shoved into his pockets, a wet patch from Michael’s tears still on his shoulder. “Your hair is blue,” she stated.

He nodded. “It is. Is that a problem?”

Lily narrowed her eyes as she looked it over. “No. I guess you’re just cooler than these two.” Michael gasped in pretend shock while Luke cackled. Calum cracked a grin and raised an eyebrow. 

“I take it you haven’t googled pics of a younger Michael?”

Lily met his eyebrow with her own, she may have seen a few pics of her newly adopted parent, but she certainly wasn’t going to share her investigation unless it benefitted her. And if Calum had embarrassing pics to show her…. “They don’t let foster kids on the computer unsupervised. We could google porn or serial killers, you know.”

Calum just nodded, amusement in his dark eyes. “Well, I’m pretty sure there hasn’t been a color invented that Michael hasn’t had his hair. I’ll show you later.”

Lily nodded slowly, her thoughtful gaze now on Michael. “Deal,” she replied.

“Alright, then!” Luke clapped his hands together. “Let’s get you girls and the luggage in the SUV.” He picked up their two suitcases and Michael’s gym bag and trotted to the rear of the vehicle.

Calum moved up behind Michael and slid his arms around the other man’s waist. “Is there anything in there that you need right now?” he asked, quietly. 

Michael gave a humorless laugh. “Just my dog,” he answered sadly, eyeing the second-floor window. Cal followed his gaze up and saw the curtains twitch in what he knew was Michael’s bedroom window. He clenched his jaw against the vitriol he wanted to spew. Instead he spun them both around and gently pushed Michael to the vehicle. “C’mon, Mikey. Let’s go home.”

Luke picked up Ellie and plopped her into the back seat. Lily climbed in on her own. “Where’s her booster?” she asked. Luke looked at her blankly. She rolled her eyes again. “She’s four. She needs a booster seat.”

Luke blinked. “Okay, first of all, your eyes are gonna get stuck like that if you keep rolling them. Second, shit! I mean, uh, shoot. I didn’t think of that.”

Lily snorted a laugh. “At least if they got stuck like that, I wouldn’t have to watch you blatantly disregard my sister’s safety,” she smirked. “And don’t watch your language for me. I doubt there’s one I haven’t heard. Or said.”

Luke grinned back, buckling Ellie in. “We’ll get a booster seat on the way home. And if you think you’ve heard them all, you clearly haven’t heard Michael when he plays video games.”

Lily slapped his hands away as he reached for her seat belt. “I look forward to adding to my vocabulary,” she said haughtily, settling back with her arms crossed.

Luke shut the door, cutting off the booming sound of his laughter, and Lily gave a tiny smile. She quickly wiped it off of her face as the other door opened and Michael climbed in. After he buckled in, he turned earnest eyes on Lily. “I’m so sorry. I totally blanked on Ellie needing a booster seat. I can send the boys to the store to get one before we leave if you don’t want her riding without it.”

His earnest expression made something in her chest twist and she relied on her muscle memory as her body shrugged and eye rolled. “You’ve been a ‘parent’ for all of two days,” she said as Luke and Calum shut the doors in the front. “I think I can let this one go. Just don’t drive like an idiot,” she called up to Luke. 

Calum barked out a laugh. “Luke does everything like an idiot.”

“Fu—dge you,” Luke choked out, starting the car.

“I like fudge,” Ellie interjected. “And I’m hungry!” Lily snickered at Luke’s wide eyes in the rearview mirror.

“Okay!” Calum leaned around the seat. “Let’s treat the little ladies to some LA cuisine, then. I know this great Pescatarian café. They do the most amazing fried squid.” Lily stopped snickering and hesitantly glanced at Michael. He was looking out the side window and rubbing his cheek scruff so she couldn’t see his face really well.

“Oh!” Luke chimed in. “Michael’s favorite sushi place has fried squid. I’m not a fan, myself, but I hear it’s okay in sashimi. That’s raw, by the way.” Lily could feel herself going a little green and, when she looked at her sister, Ellie’s face could only be described as horrified.

Michael sneezed beside her, which garnered her attention. After peering a bit harder at him, his sneeze repeated and she could see his shoulders shaking. Narrowing her eyes, she elbowed him and, sure enough, he burst into peals of laughter. “I’m sorry, guys,” he chortled. “I couldn’t help it. She looks like she’s gonna throw up.”

Luke and Calum howled with laughter in the front seat and, even though Lily sat back with her arms crossed again, she reluctantly let the corners of her mouth reflect her amusement. “Can’t we just get Maccas?” Ellie asked, forlornly. 

“Of course, we can get Maccas, sweetheart,” Michael said, reaching past Lily to brush a lock of wayward hair out of Ellie’s face. “Booster seat, Maccas, then home.” Luke and Calum exchanged pleased looks in the front seat as Michael continued to let an occasional giggle escape at Lily’s expression.


	5. Chapter 5

It was closer to three hours later when they got back to Luke’s spacious house, and Michael had to admit he wasn’t looking forward to Sierra’s wrath. To say that Michael wasn’t her favorite person was a huge understatement. He practically tiptoed into the living room behind the girls. 

Luke and Calum had snatched up the suitcases, and even Michael’s bag, when they unloaded the SUV. Michael caught them giving each other loaded looks just before Luke bounded up the stairs with half of the luggage. “We’ll just put these up in the bedrooms,” Cal called out, following him a bit more sedately. “Get comfy, guys. We’ll be down in a second.”

It was more than a second, but Ellie and Lily had found Petunia and they weren’t paying attention to the clock like Michael was. He was tempted to go poking around the ground floor, but didn’t want to run into Sierra alone. He also wanted to see what the ditzy duo would do when they got back downstairs. 

Sure enough, once they appeared—nearly 10 minutes later—they traded looks again and disappeared further into the house. They didn’t stop in any other rooms, just poked their heads in. Occasionally, they would carefully shut a door and shake their heads at each other before moving on to the next.

“You two want to tell me what’s going on?” Michael finally spoke up on their second pass through the living room. They both jumped and exchanged guilty looks. 

“We’re just…,” Luke began.

“Making sure the house is presentable,” Calum finished. Adult conversation wasn’t enough to interest Ellie, but Lily caught on quickly. Her sharp eyes took in the three of them and narrowed in consideration.

“Luke, if this is going to be a problem with Sierra, we can just go to a hotel or something,” Michael offered, tiredly.

Luke frowned. “‘This’ isn’t a problem. You could never be a problem, Michael. Or your two girls.”

Lily’s eyes shot to Michael at that and she watched his expression carefully. He gave a slight smile at the words, but then his smile slid off of his face. “You know I love you, man. I don’t want to cause trouble between you and Sierra.”

Luke’s face closed off. “There is no me and Sierra. Not anymore.”

Michael gaped. “Wh-what? Man, I’m so sorry! What happened? When?”

Calum gave a snort of laughter as he plopped down on the sofa. “About three hours ago, give or take.”

Michael’s eyes ping ponged between his two friends before settling on Luke’s blushing face. “Luke?” he asked, quietly. 

“We had a disagreement,” Luke said, haltingly. “I ended it. End of story.” Calum snorted again and Luke glared murder at him.

“Well, this is like some Guinness World’s Record shit, right here,” came Lily’s dry voice. “We’ve screwed up two long term relationships in less than four hours just by existing.”

“Language,” Michael shot out. “And what happened with Crystal was _not_ your fault.”

“Neither was what happened with Sierra,” Luke added. “It’s no one’s fault.”

“Oh, it’s _someone’s_ fault, all right,” Calum muttered. “Starts with an ‘S’.”

Luke shot a glare Cal’s way before Michael huffed out, “I made a decision to care for two little girls who needed me. Crystal made a different decision. Those two decisions aren’t compatible. That’s not anyone’s fault.”

“Starts with a ‘C’,” Calum sing-songed, then looked like he wanted to take it back as he realized what his name started with.

“Well, I made a decision to be there for my best friend and his two kids when they needed a place to stay,” Luke ignored Calum’s personal crisis, and Michael rolled his eyes. “Sierra didn’t agree with that, but then this isn’t Sierra’s fu-dging house, so Sierra took her disagreeable a-butt and moved out,” Luke looked frustrated by his cursing slips.

“He told her to be gone by the time we got back,” Cal added, helpfully. Well, helpfully for Michael. Luke just looked constipated. “We were just looking to make sure she was actually gone, and that she didn’t leave anything behind to be a bitch.”

“Language,” Michael said, absently. “What would she have left behind?”

Luke and Cal did that freaky discussion with their eyes again and Cal shrugged. “We thought she might leave a shitty note or something…something more _serious_ ,” Calum hedged, eyeing the girls.

Michael looked too worried to comment on language. “Serious? Did you check?” He made an aborted attempt to head upstairs, but was stopped by Luke’s hands on his arms.

“There’s nothing here,” he soothed. “Me and Cal already did a sweep of the whole upstairs. You know I’d never let her hurt you or the girls, right?” His lip moved into an involuntary pout that Michael never failed to find adorable. But this was about his girls. 

“I know,” he said, closing his eyes momentarily. “I just worry.”

Luke pulled him in for a brief, tight hug. “It’s okay. We were worried, too. But it’s alright. It’s safe. The girls are safe.”

Ellie took that moment to join in the conversation. “I’m tired, Lily.”

Michael turned immediately. “Well, then we should get you into your jammies and tuck you in, yeah?” he smiled. 

“Yes, please!” Ellie hopped up, skipping over to Michael’s side. He lifted her up and propped her on his hip then looked over at Lily, still standing with her arms crossed next to Petunia. “Are you tired, too, Lily?”

She shrugged. “Whatever. I should go just to keep Ellie company. She might fuss in a new house for the first time.”

Michael just nodded and looked over at Luke. “Where’d you put them?”

“They’re both in the guest room at the end of the hall. I thought they’d be more comfortable together, too.” Michael smiled shyly in thanks at him, then led the way upstairs, carrying his precious cargo.

Luke and Calum watched the trio disappear up the stairs, then turned to each other, each with a stupid grin on their face. They both blushed, then Luke shrugged. “So, I’m gonna guess that you still feel the same way about us?” 

Cal started, surprised that Luke would so readily bring it up. But then, that was Luke in a nutshell. He hated secrecy, and wore his heart on his sleeve. Cal shrugged. “I never stopped,” he admitted, then narrowed his eyes. “Did you?”

Luke flushed a deep red. “No,” he murmured. “I got scared, and then Arzaylea just showed up. Everyone seemed to want me to be with her, so I was,” he shrugged. “When the shit started flying, I was pretty happy to kick her to the curb. But no one except Ash seemed comfortable with the three of us, anymore,” he said, sadly. 

“By the time I realized that it didn’t matter what anyone thought, Michael was in love with _her_ ,” he sneered. “When he asked her to marry him, I just…I just said ‘fuck it’. I jumped on the first person I could find. Worst four years ever,” he said, a sad smile on his face.

Cal nodded sadly. It had hurt like hell to watch Luke slip away from them. And Arzaylea was a twat and a half, so to see him happy with her was like twisting the knife. He and Michael tried to keep their own relationship going for a while longer, but it just wasn’t right without all three of them. 

Cal, unlike Luke, never wanted to try to replace the most perfect thing he’d ever had, so he remained single. Always the odd man out, with the other three in relationships. He was just waiting, biding his time. Time that looked like it had finally arrived, he hoped. “So, you want to try the three of us again?” he asked Luke. 

Luke flushed again and stared down at his feet. “I’ve never wanted anything more,” he whispered. 

Cal stood up and crossed the space between them. He lifted Luke’s chin with his finger and smiled into those beautiful blue eyes. “Me, too,” he returned just as quietly. Leaning in, he gently brushed his lips over Luke’s, reveling in the spark that zinged through his body. Luke relaxed into him and chased Cal’s mouth when he pulled away. Cal gave in and let the sweet press of Luke’s lips bring him back to a time when everything they did was for each other. That it might be that way again made his heart swell. 

But, he thought happily as Luke moved back slowly, it wasn’t just them, was it? Now, it was the three of them plus two very damaged little girls. He rested his forehead against Luke’s and smiled. “We’re going to get him back, Lukey,” he whispered. “And we’re going to make those girls of his feel safe, and happy, and like family while we’re at it.”

Luke opened his eyes and smiled back. “We always talked about having kids one day,” he agreed. 

Cal nodded, Luke’s happiness—as always—multiplying his own. “I love you, Luke,” he ventured. “I always have.”

Luke’s joy shone from his face as he threw his arms around Calum and held him tightly. “I love you, too, Cal,” he returned. “I always have, and I’m so sorry it took me so long to pull my head out of my ass.” They stood, peaceful and satisfied for long minutes, only breaking apart when they heard boots clomping down the stairs.

Michael appeared at the foot of the stairs, but hesitated when he saw how closely Luke and Calum stood. Calum could swear he saw a flash of sadness and longing in those green eyes before Michael pasted a smile on his face, and he prayed he wasn’t just being hopeful. 

“They’re asleep,” Michael announced. “Am I interrupting?” Luke nearly grinned at the tight tone and passive aggressive head tilt the blond gave.

“Nope. We’re done.” Cal noted the narrow-eyed look Michael gave them and tried not to smirk. Maybe it wouldn’t be as hard as they’d thought.

“Well, that’s good,” Michael gritted his teeth behind the smile. He wasn’t stupid. He could tell something had gone down while he was gone. Something that brought a sparkle to Cal’s eye and a flush to Luke’s throat. Something he’d once participated in. Something he missed like a phantom limb. But, whatever. If they weren’t going to bring it up, neither was he, he thought bitterly.

“So, I was kinda tired, myself. Can I crash in the other guest room?” he asked.

“You can,” Luke replied, “but we’re gonna have to join you.”

Michael blinked. “Huh?”

Luke waved him over as he turned to head back to where Michael knew the master bedroom was. “Sierra did leave something as a final fuck you, but it wasn’t to the girls,” Luke explained, opening the door he’d closed earlier.

Michael peered into the room and caught his breath. “What the fuck?” he murmured.

Nothing stood undamaged. Dressers had their drawers yanked out and dumped. Side tables were knocked over, one even had a lost leg—which on further investigation was found at the base of the shattered, full-length mirror in the corner. Lamps were knocked to the floor with their bulbs smashed. The curtains were yanked down and piled on the floor next to the bedding. The mattress had been pulled from the box spring and some dark liquid stained it straight through. 

Stepping into the room, Michael noted the closet door was open. He peered in to see Luke’s precious leather collection on the floor. Some of the dark liquid from the mattress had made its way here, coating the pieces that weren’t sliced up with what appeared to be the chef’s knife from the kitchen.

He picked his way through the destruction in the bedroom to see that it didn’t stop there. The bathroom mirror was also smashed, as was the sliding glass shower door. All of Luke’s varied bottles and tubes were squeezed out on the vanity and in the toilet. The toilet seat was ripped off and jammed down in the tank. He couldn’t see the tank lid until he stepped in the room, then he saw it laying inside the shower, explaining how the door came to be broken. 

The piece de resistance were the words ‘Fuck you Luke’ smeared on the inside of the shower in what Michael thought was Sierra’s signature color lipstick.

“Holy fuck!” Michael breathed, turning to look wide-eyed at the other two men. “Jesus, Lukey, she’s insane!”

Luke just quirked the side of his mouth and shrugged. “Yeah, she wasn’t fond of you.”

“I’m so sorry, Luke,” Michael hung his head.

“Hey, hey, hey! There’ll be no blame taking.” Luke stomped his way through the detritus of his room to pull Michael into a hug.

“Naw,” Calum added, clomping over to add himself to the hug. “She was pretty whack. Unlike Lukey, I think she’d have lost her shit no matter what the reason.” Luke sighed, but didn’t disagree.

“So, no one is going to be sleeping in here, tonight. You okay with having a banding cuddle?” Luke asked the side of Michael’s head. 

“Yeah, of course.” Michael pulled away to shoot a shy grin at Luke. “When am I not up for cuddling?”

“Not so much for the last few years, actually,” Cal pointed out. 

Michael’s smile faded and he looked down at Luke’s shoulder. “I should have been,” he said, softly. “I missed it a lot. I missed you both a lot.”

“Meh,” Cal said, smacking a kiss on the other side of Michael’s head. “You got to sleep in a huge bed with a tiny, little woman. Must have been nice to sprawl out.”

Michael’s smile came back a bit. “I never slept so well as when we were wadded up in a giant cuddle ball. Sprawling out is overrated.”

Both Luke and Cal dropped a kiss at the same time on either side of Michael’s head, then they carefully guided the blond out of the room, shutting the door with a satisfied click.

“Let’s go to bed boys.”


	6. Chapter 6

Michael shifted Ellie’s weight in his arms to gently nudge the bedroom door open with his foot. He stepped in and plopped her down onto the bed in the center of the room. “Alright, little ladies,” he smiled, giving Ellie’s tummy a tiny tickle before moving to the suitcases on the floor. Ellie giggled and flopped on the bed. “Why don’t you two head into the bathroom and change and brush your teeth? I’ll turn your bed down for you.”

He stood up, holding out a set of bright blue pajamas with flowers all over them. “I’m guessing these are yours, Petal Princess?” he asked, smiling over at Ellie. 

“Yes, yes, yes!” Ellie hopped off of the bed. “Is my toothbrush in there, too?” She peered into the suitcase while Michael rooted around in it. He eventually came up with a cylindrical tube that turned out to be a bright yellow toothbrush. Ellie snatched them both up and bounded out of the room. 

He turned his gaze to Lily, who’d gotten her own rather plain pajamas and toothbrush out of her own suitcase. She stared at him wordlessly, her face giving away nothing. Michael refused to say it aloud, but she was extremely intimidating. “Um…can I…can I tuck Ellie in?” He stumbled over his words, flushing a bit as he embarrassed himself in front of a 10-year-old child. Lily just shrugged and moved past him, eyes never leaving him until she’d left the room. 

Michael sighed, both in relief and in sadness. Ellie was easy, she soaked up love and affection like a sponge. But, Michael thought, it was Lily that really needed it. And she repelled it like she was coated with Scotchgard. He turned down the bed and changed the overhead light for one by the bedside, humming the whole while.

“Whatcha singing?” A little voice pipes up just as Michael gave a final pat to the pillow. He turned to see a bright-eyed Ellie smiling up at him. 

“Just a song we sing sometime on tour.”

“Do you know a lot of songs?” Ellie asked, curiously.

Michael laughed. “I do actually know a lot of songs.”

“Do you know any flower songs?”

Michael blinked, surprised. He knew one for sure. It was coming out on the next album. But the sexual undertones? Probably not for a four-year-old. “Uh…I don’t know. Do you like flower songs?”

Ellie nodded, her ringlets bouncing around her face. “They’re my favorite.”

“Well,” Michael reached out and scooped her up, swooping her through the air to deposit her on the bed. Her squealing giggles made him laugh as well. “I will just have to look some flower songs up for you, then.” Some child appropriate flower songs, he amended. He lifted the blankets and let her slide her feet under them before tucking the blankets back around her tiny body. 

He’d just tenderly brushed her golden hair off of her forehead, reveling in her sweet smile, when he felt eyes on the back of his neck. He glanced behind him to see Lily, glowering at him from the doorway. He tried to pretend that it didn’t hurt, how she didn’t trust him, and sent her a smile, too. “Okay?” he asked. 

She ignored him as she stepped past him to the other side of the bed. He made a move to help pull the cover back for her and she gave him a glare that froze his hand in place. “Sorry,” he said quietly. She ignored that, too, and jerked the blanket over her shoulder, facing away from him and her sister.

“So, my Petal Princess,” Michael forced himself to smile down at Ellie. “Do you usually have a story before bedtime?”

Ellie shook her head, her smile dimming a little. “No. There were too many kids to read a story to all of us. Or the foster parents just didn’t like us.”

Michael’s heart hurt at that. “Well, you can have as many stories as you like, here. I don’t have a kids’ story book on me, but we can get some tomorrow. For now, though, I can pull a story up on my phone?” 

Ellie looked like she was considering it. “No,” she shook her head. “Can you just sing to me instead?” Beside her, Lily gave an almost imperceptible snort, which Michael pretended he didn’t hear. 

“What would you like me to sing, Petal?” He sat on the edge of the bed. 

Ellie screwed her face up in thought. “Do you know the Sunshine song?” She hummed a few notes. 

Michael nodded. “I do know the Sunshine song.”

“I want that one, then.” She squirmed down into her covers, getting comfortable and closing her eyes. Michael gave her a fond smile and began singing. He only knew a couple of verses, but she seemed happy enough with it. He repeated it once more until her face relaxed into sleep and her breathing deepened. 

Leaning forward, he brushed a kiss onto her forehead. “Goodnight, Petal,” he whispered. He stood up to walk around the bed to the light on Lily’s side. He’d managed not to look at her while he was singing, but he couldn’t resist a glance as he reached for the switch.

Though she had stuffed the blanket under her chin and her face was shoved into her pillow, he saw the silvery shine of a tear on her cheek. And his heart hurt again. He clicked the light out, but before he moved away, he leaned down and brushed a kiss on the top of her head. She gave a slight flinch, but didn’t respond. “Goodnight, Sunshine,” he whispered. 

He left on quiet feet, leaving the door cracked and the hall light on low. He remembered being four and terrified of the monsters in the dark. Although, he was pretty sure that all the monsters those two little girls knew were actually real. 

***********

If Michael closed his eyes, it could have been four years ago: the three of them taking turns in the bathroom, elbowing each other out of the way; pulling shoes and jeans off and tossing them into a pile in the center of the floor while teasing each other about not fitting into anyone else’s clothes in the morning. 

When they were down to t-shirts and underwear, they shut the light off and piled into the bed like puppies. Michael wasn’t surprised to find himself in the middle. It had always been like that. The one who needed it the most was always in the middle. They snuggled down, Calum fitting his toned body up against Michael’s back; Luke curling his ridiculously long body into a comma, his head tucked up under Michael’s chin. 

They lay quietly for long minutes, reveling in the feeling of being wrapped up in each other again. Michael could feel the sting of tears against the back of his eyes. “Thank you, both,” he whispered. “For coming for me.”

Calum slipped his arm over Michael’s waist and Luke brought his hand up to grasp Michael’s between them. “We’ll always come for you, Mikey,” he whispered back. “We love you.”

The tears were a very real thing now. Michael linked his fingers with Luke’s and brought his other hand up to cover Calum’s over his stomach. “I love you, too,” he managed. He felt movement above his head and knew without looking that Luke’s and Cal’s free hands had just met. He squeezed his eyes tightly against the tears and just enjoyed the feeling of his two boys wrapped around him again. 

He was almost asleep when Luke cleared his throat. “Mikey?”

“Hmmm?” Michael responded.

“I don’t know what’s gonna happen with Crystal and your house, but…I want you to live here. With me.”

“With us,” Cal interrupted. 

Luke lifted his head as Michael opened his eyes and he could see the excitement shining in Luke’s face. “Yeah?” he asked. 

“Mmm,” Cal rumbled behind him. “Roy has been wanting to live with his girlfriend for a while now. I figured I’d just let him buy the house off of me and move in here with you, if that’s okay?”

Luke’s curls swished past Michael’s nose. “That’s amazing, Cal! I’d love that.”

Michael sighed. “Well, you just got a roommate,” he said, softly. “I wouldn’t want to be in the way.”

Luke pushed up onto his elbow. “No! You’d never be in the way. I want you both here.”

Michael shrugged hesitantly. “I’m a package deal, now, though. It’s not just me. It’s Ellie and Lily, also.”

Luke smiled down at him. “Of course, silly,” he rolled his eyes. “I figured we could turn both these guest rooms into their rooms. Lily is getting old enough that she’s going to want her own space. Trust me, as a younger brother, I know all about that,” he said wryly. 

“And Ellie is going to need her own space for all of her toys that Lily’s already outgrown. And I’m pretty sure Ellie is gonna want her room done in flowers and Lily doesn’t strike me as a flower kind of girl.”

Michael grinned against his pillow. “She’s so not.” His grin faded. “But you already have the downstairs guest rooms turned into a game room and the music room. Where are me and Cal gonna go?”

He saw Luke’s eyes dart over his head to make silent contact with Cal, and felt Cal shift awkwardly against his back a moment later. “I thought we could just keep hanging out in the master,” Luke said, vaguely. “It’s a California King, and we don’t always keep the same hours. I can add another dresser in there and you can put all of your gaming and music stuff in the other rooms. And—”

“Luke,” Cal interrupted again, softly.

Michael could hear the smile in his voice. Luke’s voice faded away and he dropped back down to hide his face in Michael’s neck again. “Just think about it, yeah?” he ended, lamely.

“Yeah,” Michael said, dazedly. “I will.” Luke nodded and snuggled down again. Not long after, his breath evened out and Cal’s arm slacked against him. Michael didn’t sleep for a long time, though.

Eventually, though, slumber did claim him. He only knows that because what sounded like a cleared throat pulled him from it. He blinked sleepily, lifting his head from where it rested against Luke’s fluffy curls. Finally, his eyes zeroed in on the source of the throat clearing. 

“Lily,” he rasps with a sleepy smile. “Hi, sweetheart. Are you okay?” If he had been more conscious, he would have noted the startled deer look on the girl’s face. Or perhaps the subtle release of the fists clenched against her chest as she stood with folded arms. 

Beside him, Luke also blinked his eyes open, brought to wakefulness by the sound of Michael’s voice. He peered down the bed to see Lily, staring confusedly at Michael. “Hey, baby girl,” Luke smiled lazily, shifting over onto his back. “You need something?” If she’d been perplexed at Michael’s greeting, she was pole-axed at Luke’s. 

“Uh…she managed.” Then, her chin came up and her arms re-tightened on her chest. “Ellie is hungry, and I didn’t know if I’d be allowed to touch anything in the kitchen.”

Luke frowned. “What? Of course, you can. You can touch anything you want. It’s your house, too.” 

She didn’t have an answer to that, but Calum, now awake as well, saved her from trying. “Why don’t you go down and help her out, Lukey,” he murmured, yawning directly afterward. “I’ll be down in a minute to make some coffee.”

“I…I have to get Ellie ready,” Lily stuttered out. 

Michael sat up completely. “No, honey, you go on down with Luke. I can get her ready,” he smiled, tiredly.

Lily glared. “She’s my sister.”

Michael nodded. “I know,” he agreed, softly. “But I’d like to help. Can I help?”

Lily hesitated for another moment, then rolled her eyes and spun with a huff. “Whatever,” she snapped, disappearing out the door. 

Calum grinned. “That was almost like giving you her blessing.” Michael snorted and gave a wry shrug. 

They all piled out of bed and pulled on yesterday’s jeans. “Meet you downstairs,” Michael said with a shy smile as he left through the door. And if Luke and Calum took an extra few minutes to exchange a lengthy good morning kiss, no one was there to see it. 

They found Lily sitting at the kitchen table when they finally made it downstairs. She gave them a narrow-eyed, suspicious look, and both of them flushed before pointedly ignoring one another and moving to opposite ends of the kitchen. 

Calum began clattering around, finding out where Sierra had moved the coffee since the last time he was there. Frustratingly, he couldn’t find it. “Luke,” he called. It only took Luke a glance to realize the problem. 

“Oh, sorry, man. She moved it to the cupboard above the fridge.” Calum turned around, a confused look on his face. Luke shrugged. “She said it was bad for me and I shouldn’t be drinking it, so she put it in a hard to reach place.”

“Seriously?” Calum asked, puzzled. “You’re like 10 feet tall.”

Luke laughed. “Yeah, but she’s only 5’3”. I guess it was a hard to reach place for her.”

Calum rolled his eyes. “Fucking stupid.”

“Hey,” Luke called out with a frown. “Language.” Calum glanced over to find Lily smirking at them both. Calum didn’t even bother apologizing, he just shoved Luke out of the way and snagged the coffee. Luke hollered out, “Hey!” again, but when Calum smacked him on the ass on his way past, he just grinned. 

“Alright, little lady, what would you like for breakfast?” Luke stuck his head in the refrigerator. “We have bacon, eggs, ham, some weird egg whites in a container, I’m pretty sure we have pancake mix, but no berries and—”

“Are you two screwing?” Luke came up so fast that he hit his head on the door. Behind him, Calum began choking on his own spit. Lily just sat at the table, blinking innocent eyes at them both. 

The boys exchanged glances and moved to mirror each other as they leaned on the backs of the kitchen chairs. “Um, what?” Luke asked intelligently, after Calum finally stopped coughing.

The corner of Lily’s mouth came up. “You two. And Michael. Are. You. Screwing?”

“No!” Luke was quick to spit out. He could feel the heat in his face, though. 

Lily cocked her head. “Not now, or not ever?”

Luke looked like he might have swallowed his tongue, so Calum sighed. “This is really inappropriate, you know. Kids your age—”

Lily cut him off. “I’m apparently ‘hyperlexic’ and ‘intellectually gifted’, so I’m perfectly capable of understanding what I just asked you and any response you might have to it,” she said, condescendingly. “However, I also have an emotional disorder which leads to ‘challenging behaviors’, which means I’m going to ask really uncomfortable questions and do particularly shitty things.” She shrugged. “I’m sure Michael would be happy to let you read my psychiatric evaluation, if you’d like.”

Calum’s lip began twitching in response. Luke was still staring bug-eyed. Calum nodded and turned back to making the coffee. “We are not currently ‘screwing’, though we have done so in the past.”

“Calum!” Luke gasped. 

Calum shot him a look. “Bacon and eggs, Lukey. And I want pancakes. Chop chop.” Luke fish-mouthed for a moment or two more, then obediently got back into the fridge to pull the requested items out. 

“When?” Lily demanded. 

Cal shrugged. “2012ish to 2014ish.”

“All three of you?” 

“Mmm hmm.”

“Did anyone know?”

“Ashton, of course,” Cal began to relax even as her shotgun questioning method sped up. “Our personal assistant Zoe. Feldy knew, I’ve since found out. So did most of One Direction. And I’m pretty sure Luke’s mom knew.” He paused to let Luke gasp in horror. “And if Liz knew, my mom, Michael’s mom and Ashton’s mom weren’t far behind.”

“Oh my fucking God,” Luke whispered. “My mother knew I was in a threesome. I can never look her in the face again.” Both Lily and Calum snorted out a laugh.

“It’s actually called a polyamory,” Lily offered.

“Oh God,” Luke moaned, cracking eggs into a bowl.

Lily rolled her eyes, amused despite herself. “Why’d you stop?”

Cal gave a wry laugh. “Well, I’m sure it won’t be much of a surprise to know that Luke panicked.”

“What?” Luke asked absently, hearing his name.

Lily gave a bark of laughter. “Yeah, not so much. So, do you want to get back together?” Calum set a cup of coffee at Luke’s elbow and brought his own over to the table. He pulled out a chair and plopped down in it. 

He took a moment to sip the hot liquid before leaning forward, hands cupped around the mug, eyes on Lily. “I would like to, yes,” he said, honestly. “I’ve been in love with both of them since I was 16.” Lily’s eyes softened. “I’d pretty much given up hope between Crystal and Sierra, but the universe handed me a VIP backstage pass when both Michael and Luke broke it off yesterday. And I would like not to waste the chance to win them both back.”

“Technically, Crystal broke it off with Michael,” Lily couldn’t resist the dig. 

Calum smiled teasingly. “Oh, sweetie,” he said, smoothly. “A sexy older woman who may work as a talent manager at a no name company, but practices fulltime goldigging told him that if he wanted to continue screwing her, he’d have to get rid of two kids he hardly knows and has no idea how to raise, one of whom already clearly doesn’t like him.” Lily flushed. 

“He chose you,” Calum stated, plainly. “Don’t fool yourself into thinking Crystal had the deciding vote. She just happened to have the keys to the house at the time.”

“But…why would he choose us?” Lily asked, her voice going small. 

Calum shrugged. “I can think of a dozen reasons off the top of my head, but to know for sure, you’d have to ask Michael.”

“Ask Michael what?” A new voice came from the doorway as Michael swept in, Ellie on his hip again. He lifted her down and put her in the seat next to Lily, giving her a kiss on top of her head. He moved over to the coffee pot and began pouring a cup. Turning back, he blinked curiously at the frozen people in the kitchen. 

“What’s going on?” he chuckled. “You all are acting like I caught you stealing something.”

Ellie clucked disapprovingly. “It’s not nice to steal, Lily.”

Lily gave a tremulous chuckle. “No, it’s not. Good thing we weren’t stealing.”

“What were you doing, then?” Ellie asked, innocently.

Luke began whisking with extreme focus. Lily reached out and straightened Ellie’s collar to have something to do with her hands. Cal just leaned back and smiled. “We were talking about the pets. We were wondering how Piggy’s gonna do with Duke in the house.”

Michael’s smile dimmed. “Oh,” was all he said. Calum’s eyes took in Michael’s minute slump and then shot over to Luke. Luke was nearly wibbling at Michael’s sadness. Pursing his lips, Calum made a decision. 

“So,” he changed the subject abruptly. “I have some stuff to do today before we move in. Why don’t you and Luke take the girls shopping, Mikey?”

Michael glanced over at the two girls and his happiness level rose a bit. “Yeah, that would be fun,” he smiled. “There’s no point living out of suitcases anymore. You can pick up whatever you need, maybe some new stuff to wear and some things you enjoy doing, also.”

Even Ellie looked skeptical. “Like what?”

Michael blinked. “Um…well, do you like coloring? Or playing games? Or…dolls?” His voice got progressively weaker as Ellie didn’t react to anything. Lily just smirked.

“I like flowers,” Ellie announced. 

“Okay,” Michael nodded. “Well, we can go to a store with a garden center and get some flowers to plant.” His head shot up and he looked over at Luke. “If…if you don’t mind giving up a little corner of your backyard?”

Luke beamed at them. “That sounds awesome. You can pick wherever you like to plant flowers, little one. Maybe we can even get some plants for inside, too!” Ellie bounced in her seat and clapped. 

“How about you, Lily?” Michael asked, softly, once Luke had taken on Ellie in shouting out names of flowers—Ellie was winning. “What do you like to do?”

“I read,” she returned. “Just point me to a library. No need to waste your money on me.” 

That seemed to get Ellie’s attention. She drooped visibly. “Oh,” she said, then nodded. “Yeah, maybe we can just look at the flowers, instead?” she said, hopefully. 

Michael looked at Luke, confused. “No, you can get flowers,” he persisted. “And you can get some books, or…or do you like reading on a device?” He smiled plaintively at Lily. “We need to get you a phone anyway, so you can call…” he hesitated and Lily sneered. 

“Call who? My ton of friends? Call you? You gonna dump us on a babysitter until you get us on that plane?” Michael looked both horrified and hurt. 

“No! No, I just thought…I thought…”

“Well, don’t,” Lily snapped, glaring at him. “I don’t have friends to call. I don’t need your charity phone or books or anything else you’re trying to buy me with. You don’t need to bother. I know what’s gonna happen here. You don’t need to keep trying to make it into something it’s not. Fuck!”

She threw herself out of her chair and disappeared into the living room. Michael just sat, staring at the chair she was in. Silence reigned in the kitchen. Michael lowered his head as a tear threatened to escape his eye. 

Ellie whispered, “Language.” Then threw herself into Michael’s arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered over and over into her golden curls. She finally pulled away and patted his cheek. She had a serious look on her face. 

“Lily’s scared,” she said quietly. 

Michael nodded, sniffing. “I know she is,” he returned just as softly. 

“I’ll fix it,” she smiled. “Call us when breakfast is done?” Michael nodded weakly and Ellie jumped down from his lap. She trotted after her sister, leaving the three men alone in the room.

Calum snatched up his phone and typed something quickly into it. A moment later it dinged with a message. He nodded. “Well boys, after breakfast, Roy’s picking me up. Are you going to be okay on the shopping trip without me?”

Luke cleared his throat and began whisking again. “Um, sure. You going to be home to help clean up the bedroom later?”

Calum smiled hugely at the word home. He stood and stepped behind Luke, sliding his arms around the taller man’s waist. “I will. I promise. And if we don’t get it done today, I’m sure the girls won’t mind bunking together again. Speaking of…Michael?”

Michael started, pulling his eyes away from the kitchen door. “Yeah?”

Calum smiled fondly. “You catch any of that?”

Michael nodded, his expression turning a bit confused as he watched Calum plastering himself to Luke’s back. “Um…yeah…Roy’s getting you, clean the bedroom up after you get back, the girls together again if we don’t finish. I heard.”

“Good,” Calum smiled. “You think any more on what Luke asked last night?”

“About moving in with us?” Luke added when Michael’s gaze seemed laser-focused on Calum’s arms and Luke’s trim waist. 

Michael jerked his eyes up to meet Luke’s concerned once. “Um…I’m still considering it,” he said, vaguely. 

“Oh.” Luke’s expressive eyes turned sad. 

“I just don’t want…” Michael started, then faded off. 

“Don’t want what, Mikey?” Luke encouraged. 

“That’s…that’s just a lot of people in one house.”

“I grew up with that many. It’s crowded, yeah, but it’s also awesome,” Luke said, confusion taking over the sadness. 

Michael’s eyes dropped back to Calum’s arms. “I just don’t want…to get in the way,” he ended, lamely. 

Luke’s eyes were still confused, but Calum’s lit with understanding. “Well, just keep thinking about it, yeah?” he said, giving Luke’s waist a final squeeze before he moved to the cupboard that contained pans. 

“Yeah,” Michael returned, faintly. “I will.”

Whatever Ellie said to Lily must have worked, because she returned to the kitchen when Luke called for breakfast. Granted, she was sullen and refused to answer questions with more than a grunt. But she was there. 

When breakfast was over, Michael got up to collect dishes to wash and Luke kissed him on the cheek in thanks. Michael flushed, which made Lily smirk. When Calum’s phone dinged, and he stood to say goodbye, the kiss that he gave Michael on the other cheek made her grin. Michael was bright red and trying to pretend it was perfectly normal for another man—for two other men—to casually kiss him. 

He chanced glancing over at Calum as he walked by Luke and saw that the kiss given to Luke was anything but casual. They locked lips and leaned into one another for long moments. He felt a pang of loss in his chest as he remembered when he would have once been included in that. He turned away quickly under the guise of adding more dish soap, or he would have seen the calculating look Lily gave him.

Calum did see the look, and he narrowed his eyes at her before raising a brow. She fluttered her eyelashes innocently and gave him a sweet smile. He pointed at her as he dropped a kiss on Ellie’s head and then held out a closed fist. Rolling her eyes, Lily bumped it, then crossed her arms. Calum grinned as he called out that he’d see everyone later, and he hoped they had fun.


	7. Chapter 7

Roy picked him up in Calum’s car and asked Calum to drop Roy off at his girlfriend’s. During the trip to Aubrey’s, Calum asked Roy what he thought about Aubrey moving in. 

“That’d be awesome, man!” Roy admitted. “I’ve wanted to ask her, but the house is yours and I didn’t want to overstep.” 

Calum rolled his eyes. “Dude, you’re like family. Don’t be an idiot. Besides…” He flushed and stared out the passenger window before continuing. “Luke and Mikey broke up with Sierra and Crystal.”

Roy glanced over at him as he drove. He knew better than probably anyone else how much Calum was in love with those two. It was a topic of frequent visitation whenever Calum had one too many beers. It broke Roy’s heart to see Calum so sad after Bali, and when Calum lost his passport and ended up having to stay in Bali longer than the others, Roy decided to stay with him. Many nights of shit-faced drinking and matching tattoos later, Calum had told Roy everything about his past relationship with the boys, and how he’d give anything to be together with them again. 

Calum shrugged and gave a tiny smile. “Luke and I decided to be together again. I’m moving in.”

“And Mikey?” Roy was too impatient. 

“We asked him if he wanted to stay with us. Him and the girls. Oh, Roy, you’d love those girls,” Calum skipped off onto a tangent. “The little one is just precious. The older one is such a spitfire. She has a serious chip on her shoulder, though.”

Roy smiled. “I bet they’re lovely. What did he say?” he pushed back to the topic. 

Calum sighed. “He’s thinking about it, he says. But I’ve seen the way he looks when Luke and I are affectionate. So, I’m hopeful?”

Roy grinned. “That’s awesome, my man. I’d be happy to take your house off your hands so you can move into Luke’s. Make you an honest man, Cally,” he grinned. “Two hot husbands and a ready-made family.”

Cal flushed, but grinned. “I hope so. I’m hoping Michael agrees to stay. And to be with us.”

Roy elbowed Calum. “There’s no way he’ll say no to your puppy eyes.” They shot the breeze about random things until Roy pulled up to Aubrey’s. Calum dropped him off, then drove his car straight to Michael’s house.

He cracked his neck to one side and bounced from foot to foot for a moment, internally rolling his eyes at himself. It was one tiny woman, not a bar brawl. But he couldn’t help it. The way she always made him feel, he’d rather get hit with a beer mug over the head. One final, deep breath and he pushed the doorbell, then knocked three times. Almost immediately, he could hear the dogs barking. A minute later and he could feel her looking at him through the camera. 

Sure enough, “What do you want, Calum?” came out of the speaker. 

He turned an eye to the camera. “I want to pick up some of Michael’s stuff since he’s going to be staying at Luke’s.”

Hesitation. 

“I’ll pack some things up and leave them on the step. You go wait in your car.”

Calum snorted. “No, you won’t. Open the fucking door, Crystal.”

He heard the chain rattle and then the door opened up three inches, the chain stretched across that. “I don’t have to let you in. I can call the police,” she said, one eye peeking through the gap. 

Calum smiled sweetly. “You could,” he nodded. “In fact, why don’t you?” He pulled his own phone out. “You call the police, and I’ll call Michael. I mean, it’s not like his is the only name on the title, and that you are basically squatting right now.”

Silence. Then the door shut and the chain rattled. Calum allowed himself a smug grin. Crystal stood wordlessly as Calum brushed past her. 

He didn’t even stop to look at her, making his way upstairs to the bedroom Michael and she shared. He rooted through the closet until he found the huge suitcase Michael took on tour with him. He opened it and laid it out on the bed, then began rifling through drawers for underwear and socks. 

He could tell when Crystal entered the room, and he was satisfied that she chose to lurk in the doorway. That didn’t last for long, however. He turned around to head for the closet and she was _right there_. He had to jerk to a halt to keep from running her over. She smiled up at him and his stomach turned. 

“Calum,” she purred, lifting her hand to trace his abs. “I’m glad it was you who came to get his things.” Calum snorted, rolling his eyes as he attempted to step around her. She kept in step with him, however, and he wound up bumping into her. She wrapped her arms around his waist in a sick parody of what he, himself, had done to Luke that morning. 

“Cal,” she coaxed, a warm smile on her face. “I was hoping we could sit down, maybe have a cup of coffee together.” Her lower lip protruded and she looked up at him through her lashes. “I…I’ve felt so lonely since Michael left for Australia.”

Cal reached behind him and peeled her hands off of his hips. “Maybe you should have gone with him, then,” he returned. 

The lip pushed out a bit more. “You don’t understand, Cal. I’m a beautiful woman in the prime of my career. I can’t be a mother right now. It’s bad enough that I have to spend so much time re-training Michael.” She rolled her eyes. 

Calum saw red. Her jerked her hands off of him and shoved her backwards. She tripped and caught herself on the end table, eyes wide in surprise, and a little fear. “There was nothing _wrong_ with Michael,” he snapped. “And Michael is _also_ in the prime of his career. He wasn’t prepared for instant fatherhood, either. But Michael is a good person with a good heart and chose to do the right thing. You are a gold-digging slut who can’t keep her fucking hands out of other men’s pants!”

She pushed herself upright and pasted another smile on her face. “You aren’t other men, Calum. You’re one of a kind.” She took a step toward him. He took a step back and immediately regretted it at the victorious glint it gave her eyes. “I wanted you, Calum. You know that, right?” she purred. “But you managed to avoid me that whole time in Bali. I had to settle for Michael. But Michael is out of the picture now. We can be together.” 

She cut him off from the door and eased into his space. “I can leave here. Come stay with you. Wouldn’t that be amazing, Calum? Just you and me all alone in your big bed?” She slipped her hands under his t-shirt. “Me moaning your name, writhing under you, so hot, so wet—”

She found herself propelled backwards again as Calum shoved her forcefully away. This time she landed on her back on the bed. She gave an oomph of surprise then sprawled out sexily with a throaty laugh. “Oh, yeah,” she ran her hand down her breasts, past her stomach and into the gap between her legs. “We can do it here, too, baby,” she said, huskily.

“Fuck off, Crystal,” Calum sneered. “I wouldn’t fuck you with someone else’s dick. I don’t want you. I have _never_ wanted you. And I never will. You disgust me.”

Crystal went from hot and sexy to peeved and whiny in seconds. “Well, why the fuck did you come here today, then?”

Calum looked at her incredulously. “I came to get Michael’s shit,” he repeated. “He’s staying with us until he decides what he wants to do.” But I’m hoping he chooses to never leave, he added mentally. 

Crystal narrowed her eyes. “Us? You’re couch surfing at Luke’s, too?” 

Calum glared at her. “Actually, I’m moving in,” he stated, snottily. 

Crystal looked partly confused, partly irritated. “All three of you? Living together?”

“And the girls,” Calum added. 

The confusion evaporated and a wicked glee took its place. “You’re still in love with them, aren’t you?” she asked, her laugh pealing through the room. “You think you can go back to that weird-assed threesome you used to have.” She threw her head back and laughed. “Pretty sure Sierra isn’t gonna let that happen. She fucking hates Michael, and as soon as she finds out that Luke fucked you, too, you’re gonna be persona non grata.”

Cal bared his teeth at her. “There isn’t a Sierra anymore. Luke dumped her yesterday.”

Crystal stopped laughing and her eyes widened. “He what?”

“She tried to tell him Michael and the girls couldn’t live with them, so he broke up with her and kicked her out,” Calum announced, proudly.

“What the fuck?” Crystal snapped. Calum crossed his arms and glared at her. “So, what? You’re just all gonna live in Luke’s house pretending to be some big, happy fucked-up family?” Calum stayed silent, pretty sure he should have made that choice about five minutes ago, but que sera sera, he supposed. 

“Oh, fuck no,” she threw herself to her feet and stomped out of the bedroom. 

Calum hung his head and sighed. He was almost certain she was going to straight away call Sierra. He took the free time, however, to empty half of Michael’s closet and shoe collection into the suitcase, then took a trip to the bathroom. He found a toiletries bag under the sink and began piling all of Michael’s weird hair and skin creams in it. Less than 15 minutes later, he was pulling it all down the stairs. Crystal met him at the bottom, her smirk firmly replanted on her face.

“So, Sierra and I talked,” she said, twisting a lock of hair around her finger. “She’s willing to take Luke back if he apologizes and kicks Michael and those brats out of the house. I’m single again, but wouldn’t be opposed to a relationship with…the right guy; if he were to ask nicely. And in return,” she eased in toward him, “neither of us tell your beloved fans that you three used to fuck.”

Calum stared blankly at her for some time; long enough that she started fidgeting. “And if you decide against our generous offer, we will not only tell the public about your previous…dalliances with each other, but we’ll tell them how you’re moving in to do it again,” she threatened. 

Calum’s lips rose in a slow smirk. This was the worst possible scenario, but yet, he couldn’t find it in himself to give any fucks. “Where is Moose’s harness?”

Crystal looked like her brain may have short-circuited. “Excuse me?”

“Moose. Her harness. Her leash. I need them. I’m taking her with me,” Calum informed her, serene look still on his face.

Crystal burst into laughter. “Oh, no you’re fucking not.” Her sexy stance disappeared. “The dogs are mine.”

“Actually, Southy is yours,” Calum corrected her. “Which, honestly, isn’t really true, either. Michael pays way more attention to him than you do, but South was yours first, so South stays with you. Moose is Michael’s. She always has been. You don’t even like petting her. So, either get me the harness, or I’ll just take her like she is and buy a new one later.”

“You can’t have my dog!” Crystal said, shrilly. 

“I don’t want your dog,” Calum snarled, leaning in, causing her to take a step back. “I don’t want your dog, I don’t want your slutty ass, and I don’t want to stand here talking to you any longer. You’re making me sick to my stomach.”

He whistled for Moose, who came skittering into the front room. “Hi, pretty girl!” he cooed, leaning down to scratch behind her ears. “You’re coming with me to go see Daddy!” Moose danced at his feet happily. Calum looked up to see Crystal’s face red with rage. “Last chance, bitch. Harness?”

“Fuck you, Calum Hood!” she spat. 

Calum shrugged, opened the door and hefted the luggage. “Come on, Moose Moose!” he called, stepping through. Moose followed him happily, barking and hopping at his feet. He stowed the luggage in the trunk and opened the passenger door for Moose to leap into. He glanced in the rearview mirror as he reached the end of the drive and a cold lump settled in his throat. Crystal was no longer angry; she was just staring passively at the car as he pulled onto the road. 

This didn’t bode well.


	8. Chapter 8

Luke, Michael, Ellie and Lily piled into Luke’s SUV, Ellie chatterboxing away at Luke, and Michael and Lily sitting in muted silence. By the time they reached the superstore, Michael had joined in with the conversation, but Lily still refused to acknowledge anyone but Ellie. 

An hour later found their cart full of clothes, toiletries, some toys and puzzles and a new phone for Lily and a tablet for Ellie. Only then did Michael lead them back to the garden center and grab another cart. Ellie squealed in joy as she flitted from one flower to the next plant like some kind of large butterfly. 

Michael and Luke would find a pretty flower and hold it up for Ellie’s inspection. She’d either nod imperiously and point to the cart or she’d squint thoughtfully, then shake her head no. She had both young men hopping while Lily leaned on the shopping cart and tried to hide a smile. 

They were garnering quite a bit of attention. Lily thought the adults might have been recognized as musicians. Then she noticed that, while they were all women—of all ages—they weren’t pulling out phones or papers for autographs. They were cooing over how serious Michael and Luke were taking Ellie’s gardening excursion. 

While Lily was pleased that Ellie was happy, it stung her chest that they were putting so much effort into something that wasn’t going to last more than a couple of weeks. It really pissed her off. By the time one of the older ladies caught them all at the cart and smiled sweetly at them, Lily’d had enough of playing happy household. 

“You’re such a lovely family, two handsome dads and two lovely daughters,” the clerk tutted. 

Lily lost her shit. 

“They are _not_ our dads!” she screeched. “And we are _not_ a family!”

The woman looked so taken aback. She lifted her hand to her chest and took a step away. 

“Lily,” Luke admonished, frowning at her. Even Ellie looked disappointed in her. Michael just lowered his head and seemed to wilt. She couldn’t decide if the lump in her throat was because she was happy that she’d put him in his place, or because she kind of hated that she was the one who’d wiped the happy smile from his face. She heaved a disgusted sigh.

“I’m done with this shit,” she snapped, and spun on her heel to walk away. Of course, that was when Michael decided to speak up. 

“Lily, you can’t just run away like this. What if you get lost?”

She spun around to glare into Michael’s sad face and bit out, “I’m not going to get lost. I’m not an idiot, _Michael_.” And she stormed away, seriously done with all of it.

Michael looked helplessly after her, then turned his huge anime eyes on Luke. Luke sighed and nodded. “It’s okay, Mikey,” he said soothingly. “I’ll go after her.” He leaned in to give Michael a soft kiss on the forehead and ruffled Ellie’s hair as he passed her, then took off at a trot. Michael just stared after him, sadly. 

Ellie tugged on his hand and he looked down at her earnest face. She smiled up at him. “I don’t mind if people say you’re my daddy,” she says. Michael’s face crumpled and he dropped to his knees to scoop her up. 

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you, Petal,” he said into her hair. 

She nodded, her curls tickling his nose. “I am pretty great,” she agreed. Michael chuckled and pulled back to kiss her forehead. He glanced up and saw the clerk staring in horror.

“It’s okay,” he offered. “I’m not kidnapping them. I just adopted them and Lily…isn’t taking it well.” He glanced down at Ellie’s rapid nodding before looking back up at the woman. “I’m sorry you had to see that,” he finished, sadly. 

The woman shook her head frantically. “Oh, no, _I’m_ sorry!” she exclaimed. “I clearly said something triggering. I didn’t mean to ruin your shopping trip.” She looked around, like she was searching for witnesses.

Michael shook his head and stood up, hoisting Ellie up on his hip. “It’s pretty new,” he said, calmly, trying to reassure her that he wasn’t going to get her fired or something. “We aren’t exactly sure what the bounds are, either.”

“Is there a number? Ellie asked, softly, worry in her voice. 

Michael frowned. “A number for what, Petal?”

“For how many times Lily messes up before you send us back?” Michael looked horrified. The clerk gasped, but they both ignored her. 

“Baby, no one is sending you back,” Michael reassured her. “Either one of you. Lily is just hurting right now. I know that. She’s hitting first before someone else can hit her.”

Ellie frowned. “How’d you know they hit her?” That was more than Michael could take. He buried his face in her long hair and couldn’t fight the sob that escaped his throat. The clerk began crying, as well, but Ellie focused on Michael. She petted his soft hair with her tiny hands until he showed her his eyes. Then, she wiped the tears away like Lily did to her. She liked it when Lily took care of her like that. She really, really hoped that here, with Michael—and Luke and Calum, too—Lily could find someone who wiped her tears away as well. 

“I’m sorry, I made you sad, too,” Ellie said, unhappily. 

Michael drew in a shuddering breath. “No, Petal, you didn’t make me sad.” He kissed her forehead again. “The way the people who were supposed to take care of you actually treated you makes me sad. No one will ever hit you again,” he promised.

“Oh, they never hit me,” she said, solemnly. “Just Lily.”

“Well, no one will ever touch Lily again, either,” he vowed.

Ellie frowned, then shook her head. “I think someone should touch her,” she disagreed. “I think Lily needs a hug, sometimes.”

Michael burst into wet laughter. “I agree, Petal. So, only good touches. Love and hugs.” Ellie nodded, fiercely. “And I’m going to keep trying until she trusts me enough to give her a hug, okay?” Ellie nodded again. 

“I wish you could have been our dad from the beginning,” she said, wistfully, laying her head on his shoulder. 

“Me, too, Petal,” he whispers. “Me, too.”

************

Luke followed Lily through the store, pretty surprised that she was as quick as she was considering she wasn’t running at all. He made it all the way outside and just as he was starting to worry that he should call someone for help, Lily veered off to the right and headed right for a grassy area with a tree and park bench. As she threw herself down, Luke heaved a sigh of relief. He slowed down, but didn’t stop. 

He approached calmly, trying to control his breathing. Damn, Ashton was right about cardio. Carefully, he swung a leg over the seat on the other side of the table and waited patiently. It didn’t take long. 

“What the hell do you want?” Lily bit out. “I’m not ‘running away’.”

“I know you’re not,” he agreed. “You wouldn’t leave Ellie.”

That only caused Lily to frown harder. “I probably should,” she muttered. “She could have a nice life with Michael. She clearly ‘likes’ him. And he likes her. She’d probably have a better life without me fucking it up for her every time.”

Luke bit back the instinctual ‘language’ that came to his tongue and shrugged instead. “I don’t think so. She loves you very much. You’re her only constant. And I know you love her, too.”

Lily threw her head back and heaved a sigh. Luke could see wetness sparkle in her eyes. “I fuck up every place we’ve ever been. Every foster home, every overnight care, every time they sent us back with our mom. It’s always me. I ruin it, and Ellie pays for it. She could be happy somewhere without me. Just look at her today!”

Luke nodded. “I saw her. She did look very happy,” he agreed. 

Lily huffed a wet laugh. “See?”

“I don’t think she’d be that way if you were gone, though,” Luke corrected her. “You are her hero. You can do no wrong in her eyes.”

Lily barked out a laugh. “Bullshit. She ripped me a new one this morning. Told me I have to stop making Michael ‘sad’. My four-year-old baby sister told me that I disappointed her!” She sounded so disgusted. Luke tried to hide a grin, but knew it failed when Lily gave another huff and half turned away from him. 

“Sorry,” he said, not sorry at all. “I’m not laughing at you. I’m just amused at how the four-year-old is smarter than all of us. 

“She is not! I’m a—”

“An emotionally disturbed young girl with behavioral challenges, if I’m quoting you correctly,” he broke in, gently. Lily subsided with another huff. “I’m not gonna lie to you, Lily. The way you’re treating Michael is kind of shit.” She needed honesty right now, not to mention he was gonna lose his mind if Michael didn’t stop looking like a kicked dog. 

“I get that you’re trying to protect yourself in case he tosses you aside like all of those other foster homes, like your mom. But while you’re protecting yourself from what ‘might’ happen, you’re missing out on what’s actually happening.”

“And what is that?” Lily sounded angry, but also choked. 

“You’re missing that Michael is totally falling in love with you two,” Luke laid it out. “Calum wasn’t wrong. Michael has every reason in the world to not keep you. His lifestyle is really not one that has room in it for kids. His fiancée didn’t want you. He’s got no idea how to parent.” Lily looked like she was about to jump up and scream ‘I-told-you-so’, but he pushed on. 

“ _But_ he made you a promise. A promise that meant so much to him that he signed adoption papers before ever even meeting you. That had him flying halfway across the world to pick you up personally. That, when faced with choosing you two or the woman he asked to marry him, it took all of…what? Five minutes to tell her to fuck off?”

He sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know what you’ve experienced in your life. The people who hurt you, the people who let you down. But I can tell you that you’ve never met anyone like Michael Clifford. You’ve never met anyone who will have your back like that man. Who will drop his whole world and come running when you need him. If you give him a chance, he will drown you in love, Lily. Not just Ellie, but you, too. You will never be hurt or afraid again. He’s trying so fucking hard, right now. Give him a chance,” he begged, earnestly.

Lily refused to make eye contact with him, but he could see he had hit something inside her by the waterfall of tears pouring down her face. She continued to stare out across the parking lot, even though he was pretty sure she couldn’t see anything. Finally, her tears stopped falling and she sat quietly, her breath hitching occasionally. 

“It didn’t take him that long,” she eventually proffered. 

“Hmm?” Luke returned. 

“It didn’t even take him a minute,” she continued, softly. “Right from the start, he wouldn’t even consider it.” She hiccupped around a breath. “He told her no. When she hung up on him, he didn’t call back. Just shoved a smile on his face and called you.”

“He’s a good man, Lily,” Luke replied, encouragingly. 

“So, what about you? And Cal?” she continued. “Are you really so determined to get into his pants that you’d take someone else’s kids to raise?”

Luke sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. “You’re 10, Lily. I don’t really feel comfortable discussing sex with you.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” her words bled saccharine sweetness. “Does talking about _personal, private_ feelings bother you?”

Luke gave a reluctant laugh. “Yeah, okay, point made,” he sighed. “Fine. But only feelings. No sex.”

Lily rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to know what you do with your dick, Luke. I’m 10.”

His face could have lit paper on fire, but he turned to look at her anyway. “I have been in love with Michael, and Calum, since I was 15. When we finally…got together…the sex wasn’t even the reason. We all just…fit. The pieces of my life I was horrible at, they filled. And I’d like to say, I did the same for them. We are best friends. We work together seamlessly. We don’t judge each other. We complete each other.”

He sighed, hugely. “But we were only kids. Kids under a hell of a lot of scrutiny. We were expected to act a certain way given our lifestyle, and people talked when we didn’t. The bromance we had going made the fans happy, but the press demanded something else. I have always been the weak one out of the three of us. I know it; I admit it. I’ve always been too concerned with making people like me.” 

He was determined to get past that this time. Nothing, not even himself, was going to stand in the way of being with Calum and Michael. “I somehow got convinced that it was fucking the band up because we weren’t doing ‘the right things.’ I broke it off with them and started serial dating like some kind of slut, trying to make a bunch of people I didn’t even know happy with me. 

“I would lay in bed at night after…,” he sighed. “After sending away yet another girl I didn’t want to be with. And I would think what our lives could have been like in a perfect world where everyone just accepted us.” A small smile crept on his face. “We’d make our music, we’d travel the world, we’d be together. Really _together_. And one day, we’d decide to get a dog and a house and we’d live together between tours and make music and just love each other.”

A crease came between his eyes; not quite a frown. “I remember one day, we were…shit, I think we were somewhere in Sweden. A fan came up to us with her kid. She wanted pictures with each one of us. Michael was first. She looked around like she didn’t know what to do with her kid. Michael just lifted the little girl out of her arms. He cuddled her and then reached out and pulled the mom close in. They took the picture and Ashton was next. Ash didn’t want to hold her, but before it could become a problem, Michael just sidled away and started baby-talking the little shit.”

Luke smiled, remembering. “He made her laugh. He let her play with his hair…It was a really bright red at the time. He let her hug all over him. He held her while the rest of us got our pictures and then he wanted a picture for himself with the kid. I took it on my phone and sent it to him. He was over the moon. It was right then that I started thinking about kids with them. He’d be such a good dad. He has so much love to give.”

Luke scrabbled in his back pocket and came up with his phone. “I loved it so much that I keep transferring it from phone to phone.” He scrolled for a moment, then turned the phone around so Lily could see a younger Michael gleefully cuddling what looked to be a 2-year-old little girl. Lily gritted her teeth against the automatic aww that came to her lips. Luke pulled the phone back and looked fondly at the picture for a moment before tucking it back into his pocket. 

“So, to answer your question, do I want to get in his pants badly enough to take on a pre-established family? It has nothing to do with his pants. But I’d do nearly anything to get back into his life like that. I’d do anything to watch him be a dad to someone. I’d do anything to make it up to him, and to Calum, for leaving them out of a stupid fear that shouldn’t have mattered. I want what I lost, Lily. I want my boys back. And the fact that one of them comes with two girls of his own…only makes it more perfect,” he finished intently.

Lily was quiet again. Her breathing had calmed down but Luke could tell that even though she might be able to see the parking lot now, she still wasn’t really looking at it. “I’m not going to change who I am,” she said, stubbornly. 

“He wouldn’t want you to,” Luke answered, honestly. “Neither do I or Calum.”

“I’m not a nice person,” she warned. 

Luke cracked a smile. “We all think you’re pretty awesome, actually. But, then our idea of affection is calling each other names and irritating each other until someone throws something.”

Lily humphed, then she sighed. “Fine. I’ll try not to be a dick,” she said, gruffly. “But you and Calum need to step it up in the romancing department,” she added. “He thinks you want to bang each other and he’s just in the way.” Luke looked surprised. Lily rolled her eyes. “I’ve spent a lot of years being in people’s way. Trust me. I know that look.” 

Luke’s face fell and Lily rolled her eyes again. Thoroughly done with emotions for the moment, she stood up, gave Luke a pat on the back, and marched back into the store, Luke trailing along behind her like a lost puppy. 

She walked into the garden center determined not to show how much her knees were shaking and how much she wanted turn around and run until she couldn’t anymore. 

To his credit, Michael didn’t say anything. But his eyes lit up when he saw her and the smile he sent her way made her tummy warm. When she got closer and he could see the ravages of nearly 15 minutes of crying on her face, his smile turned a bit worried, but no less there. He slipped her into the conversation he was having with Ellie almost effortlessly and, for once, she let him. 

She shared her opinion on blossomless plants and, while Ellie sniffed in disdain at something without a flower on it, Michael took them over to a section of ground cover and had Lily pick out two or three plants that she liked as well. By the time they were ready to check out, Michael was beaming, Ellie was radiating approval and Luke had taken to watching them with the same fond smile he’d had over that photo. As she snapped her seatbelt closed for the drive home, she could only think: maybe this wasn’t as bad as she’d thought.


	9. Chapter 9

Once home—and wasn’t that a crazy word for Lily to be throwing around—she realized just how much they had bought. When all of the non-plant items were put in their room. Lily glanced around at the sheer number of _things_ the men had bought them and didn’t know what to say. 

She vaguely remembered having a room, having _things_ , when she was very small living with her mother. Then came the drugs, and the men, and by the time Ellie was born, nobody had any _things_ and shortly thereafter, they didn’t have a mother either. 

Ellie was over the moon, flitting from one item to the next. She’d never seen so many toys she was actually allowed to play with in one space. Lily finally left her upstairs coloring. She poked her nose around the bottom floor, but didn’t see either man. Feeling a lot like she was sneaking around, she started looking behind closed doors. 

The third door she opened—and dear Lord how she wanted to play in that game room, or touch some of the instruments in the music room—she found both Luke and Michael. Luke had finally come clean to Lily about Sierra’s calling card after he’d had to let them know that, until the downstairs bedroom was fixed up, the girls would have to keep sharing one room. But now, she got to see just what Sierra had thought of them all moving in together. 

“Holy shit!” she breathed, having cracked the door open and slid inside. The room looked like ground zero. Michael jumped when she spoke. 

“Language,” he said, absently. “Be careful, Lily, there’s a lot of broken glass around.” It was on the tip of her tongue to remind him she wasn’t stupid, but then she caught Luke’s eye. He didn’t look at her accusingly, he just watched her. It was enough to make her flush and she reluctantly changed her words. 

“I will,” she muttered, picking her way across the room to peer into the bathroom. Looking around, she whistled at the destruction. “Well, Luke, I don’t suppose it would have been quite so bad if you didn’t own so many hair care products,” she called out. She peered behind her to see Luke looking like an offended fish, his mouth opening and closing, and Michael bent almost in half with the giggles. She turned back to the bathroom before he could see the grin she couldn’t hide. “So, is this what all breakups look like?” she asked, coming back into the bedroom. 

“Not in my experience,” Michael managed, wiping his eyes, still chuckling a bit. “But Lukey seems to pick ladies who have anger issues. Arzaylea trashed the bus, remember?”

Luke sighed and shrugged. “Yeah, I have shit taste in women,” he agreed. 

“How about men?” Lily asked with a grin. “Did you trash anything when he broke up with you and Calum?” 

Michael’s eyes grew saucer-wide and he turned betrayed eyes on Luke. “You _told_ her we dated?” he hissed. 

“Uh…,” Luke flushed, his eyes darting everywhere but the other two people in the room.

Lily mentally kicked herself before she rolled her eyes and waved a hand. “Whatever,” she said. “He didn’t so much tell me as I guessed, and he’s really bad at lying. I don’t care,” she added, making sure she had on her bored face. “He seems a little more stable than his ex _or_ yours. 

She picked up the end table leg and waved it. “You want me to get some garbage bags?” she asked. When they both continued to gape at her, she shrugged and turned around. “Fine,” she called out. “I’ll get the bags. Hold your panties on.” And if she scurried a bit faster than normal, well, they had already begun whisper-shouting behind her.

***********

Calum nudged the door open and Moose and Duke trotted in. Calum followed behind them with his suitcase as well as Michael’s. He shut the door and tossed his keys in the bowl by the entryway, the clink of them hitting the glass making him smile. He was home. 

He suddenly felt the need to announce it. “Honeys! I’m home!” he called out to the house. Almost instantly, tiny footsteps could be heard thumping down the stairs and a drawer slammed shut in the kitchen. Ellie appeared at the top of the stairs, and while she had a huge grin on her face, the amazement that came over her a moment later was directly involving her spotting Duke sniffing the suitcase at Calum’s feet.

Ellie squealed, “Puppy!” and raced down the stairs. She did a fairly decent home run slide into Duke’s space and a moment later was on her back giggling at the licks he was giving her. Lily came out of the kitchen a bit more sedately, holding a box of garbage bags. 

“Hey, Calum,” she greeted him. “Cute puppies.”

“Aren’t they?” Cal smiled down at them. “This one is Duke, he’s mine. And this one is—”

“Moose?” came the startled cry from the hallway. Calum looked up to see Michael emerging from the bedroom, followed by Luke. His eyes were disbelieving. “Moose Moose? Baby, come here,” he called, dropping to his knees. 

Moose helpfully yipped at her master and bumbled across the slick floor, toenails clicking, straight into his arms. He squeezed her close, letting her lick her way across his face. “Oh, baby, I missed you,” he whispered into her fur. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.” He looked up at Calum, wide-eyed. “How?”

Calum just shrugged with a smile. “Said I had some stuff to do.” He used his chin to point at the luggage. “Picked up some of your clothes and toiletries, too.”

“Was…was she…?” Michael darted a look over at the girls. Ellie was still rolling around on the floor with Duke. Petunia had decided to wander in to see what the ruckus was about and she ran over to help Duke kiss Ellie. Lily quickly turned her attention to the roll of bags she held. 

Calum shrugged again. “Yeah, she was there. She said…some stuff. We need to call a band meeting for later tonight.” He looked meaningfully in the girls’ direction. 

Michael nodded. “Hey, Ellie!” he called. She looked up from under Duke and Petunia. “Why don’t you take the pups outside? We’re gonna get started cleaning the back bedroom so you and Lily can have your own rooms!”

“I can help!” she protested. 

He smiled. “I know you can, but if someone doesn’t keep these doggos occupied, they’ll be totally underfoot. Can you puppersit for us?”

She eyed him like she knew he was up to something. “Yeah…,” she eventually agreed, slowly. 

“Thank you, Petal. Leave the back door open so we can hear you, though. And be careful with Petunia. She’s a sweetie, but she’s bigger than the other dogs.”

Deciding to give in gracefully, Ellie hopped up and called all the dogs with her as she ran through the kitchen and out the back door. Michael turned Moose loose and smiled as she gamboled after the little girl. 

He stood up and threw his arms around Calum, burying his face in the other man’s neck. “Thank you, Cal,” he muttered, tightly. Calum squeezed him gently. “I know what she means to you, Mikey,” he said, softly. “And she clearly missed her Daddy, too.”

Michael pulled away reluctantly, absently straightening Cal’s shirt as he went. “So. Lily,” he turned to the other girl. “Would you go watch—”

“Oh, hell no,” Lily snorted. 

“Language,” Michael and Luke said together. 

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever. Ellie is fine. She’s good with dogs, and I have the garbage bags.” She waved the roll at them. “Best way to get to know someone is to root through their belongings,” she smirked as she started for the back bedroom. 

“I need to know, Luke,” she smiled sweetly as she turned to walk backwards for a moment. “Are you a bath-bomb-and-body-butter guy, or a sex-toys-in-the-bedside-drawer guy?”

Michael and Luke gaped at her while Calum slapped a hand over the bark of laughter that fell out of his mouth. Lily spun back around and flounced into the room. Calum followed her, snickering at the under his breath at the argument Luke and Michael took up when he moved past. 

“Do you have sex toys?”

“What? No! What?”

“I don’t care if you do, everyone uses them sometime. I just want you to make sure you get to them before she does!”

“What? I don’t…There aren’t any…What?”

“I’m serious, Luke! If we get in there and that little girl starts waving around a sparkly dildo or some anal beads, I’m gonna be pissed!”

“There aren’t any…why the fuck would I have a dildo that sparkles?” Luke huffed.

Michael looked at him sideways. “Really? Silver boots. Gold boots. Glitter eyeshadow. The whole Valentine video. The—”

“Okay! Fine! I get it. I like shiny things,” Luke pouted and Michael stopped to wrap an arm around his waist. 

“You look very pretty in glitter and shiny things,” he said, softly, with a smile.

“Yeah?” Luke gave a tiny hurt pout, and Michael leaned in to kiss his cheek. 

“Yes, Lukey. Very pretty. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

Luke shrugged, but leaned into Michael until they got to the door where they had to move single file. Calum was standing in the center of the room looking around him with no idea where to even start. Lily was picking her way over to the bathroom. 

She hopped the last dresser drawer and paused in the doorway. “I’ll start in here so you have a chance to hide your toys,” she smirked. Calum snickered while Michael shot Luke another pointed look. 

Luke threw his hands in the air. “I don’t have a sparkly dildo!”

Lily hesitated, her eyes and her smirk widening. “Well, thank you that very clarifying remark, Luke.” Michael outright glared at Luke and Calum bent over trying to muffle his laughter. Lily traded grins with Calum. 

“Before you get started, Luke, could you get me a broom and dustpan?” she asked, big-eyed. Luke stomped out of the room, muttering and Calum took a couple of steps over so he could high five Lily. 

Luke tripped into the room a minute later, almost impaling Michael with the broom handle. Michael dodged and scooped the broom and dustpan up as Luke launched them to brace himself on the tipped over dresser. “I’ll get these, Michael grinned. “So you don’t murder me or yourself.”

Luke continued to grumble as Michael picked his way to the bathroom. He handed the cleaning supplies to Lily with a small smile. “Thanks,” she said, shortly. When Michael’s lips drooped, Lily sighed. “So, I’ll keep everything I can find a lid for if it’s not empty,” she offered. 

His lips curled back up. “Sounds good,” he said. “Be careful. You have the most broken glass in there.”

Lily bit the inside of her lip to keep her mouth shut on the snarky comment that wanted to come out. “Yeah, sure,” she nodded tightly. She caught Calum’s pleased smile as Michael turned away and she rolled her eyes before kicking a spot clear on the floor for her bags.

She started sorting tubes and containers in one pile, lids in another, poking all over the huge bathroom to find tossed or buried bottles. After 20 minutes, she was pretty sure she had all the containers and she flipped over the garbage can to sit on. Twenty minutes after that and she was ready to bitch slap someone; Luke for owning it, Sierra for trashing it...she wasn’t picky. 

“Jesus Christ, Luke!” she ended up hollering. “How much beauty shit does one bisexual man need?”

“I like to look nice!” Luke hollered back. 

She looked down at the pile of make-up. “Is all of this eyeshadow and glitter yours, or did the bitch leave it behind? Cause I’m not tidying up her shit.”

“Language!” she heard Michael call out, laughter evident in his voice. 

Luke popped his head in and pouted at her. “What do they look like?” She spread them all out and glanced up to see his face flush. “No…those are mine,” he said, quietly. 

She kind of felt bad. She didn’t mean to make him feel like she didn’t approve of him wearing make-up. Right now, he looked guilty and sad. “Well, fine, but I’m throwing this yellow eyeshadow out,” she announced. “You would look pretty in this rose, or even this blue, but yellow just makes you look sallow.” 

She hucked it in the garbage bag and looked up at him out of the corner of her eye. He gave her a shy smile and disappeared back behind the door. She rolled her eyes again and dove back into sorting lids. She managed to save a good half of his beauty products and ended up just washing off the bottles and setting them in the floor outside the door while she started on the glass. 

She used a hand towel to scrape the broken mirror pieces off of the vanity and into the floor. The first clatter of glass on the floor brought all three men running. “I’m fine,” she gritted her teeth. “Go away.” She pointed back out the door and they all reluctantly pulled back. “Ridiculous,” she muttered, even as she felt that warmth in her tummy again. 

She used her towel to scrape the larger pieces of the shower door out too and then to knock out any larger pieces still hanging in the door frame. She heard a scuffling by the door again and sighed, but ignored it. After shaking out the rugs and bath mats, she began sweeping the glass into a pile and then heaped the broken porcelain tank lid on top. She looked at her plastic bags and sighed again before stepping out into the other room.

“There’s no way all this glass is going into these bags and not cutting them up.” She then saw Calum bent over stuffing another piece of the broken full-length mirror into a plastic bag. He dropped it and then shuffled over in front of it to block Lily’s view. She snorted and raised an eyebrow at him. He flushed a little, then stuck his tongue out. 

“Anyway, Luke, do you have a box to put it in instead?”

“Uh…I think there are some in the basement from when I moved in?” he replied. 

And then they all just stood there looking at each other. 

“And…are you going to get them?” Lily asked, pointedly, raising an eyebrow. 

“Uh…,” he sent worried glances at Michael and Calum. Lily was about to stomp back into the bathroom and get the toilet seat out of the tank to slap him with it when Michael put down the handful of clothes he had.

“I’ll go get them,” he offered.

“There’s…the bulb…it burnt out,” Luke blurted out. 

Michael smiled kindly at him. “It’s okay, Lukey. I got it. I have my phone flashlight.”

Lily narrowed her eyes as she looked between the fondly nodding Michael and the pale, nervous Luke. “I’ll go with you,” she announced. “If you have to carry boxes, you won’t be able hold the phone so you can see the stairs.”

“Okay,” Michael agreed. 

She waited until they were in the kitchen and Michael was reaching for the door she hadn’t noticed yesterday before clearing her throat. “So, what’s his deal? Scared of the dark?” 

Michael pulled his phone out and turned the flashlight on before smirking back at her. “He says he watched a scary movie when we were like, 17, and hasn’t been able to go into a basement since. But I’m pretty sure it’s just the dark.” He took a step down then turned sideways so the light fell for both he and Lily to see. 

“What is Calum afraid of?” Lily continued, stepping into the light. 

“He hates heights. So do I,” Michael shared. “So, now you know what to do to get even with me,” he smiled, thinly. 

Lily snorted. “Sure, I’ll just lure you onto the roof, then knock over the ladder. That’s a pretty realistic scene, I imagine.” 

“Hey,” Michael shrugged, starting to grin. “I offered it up, I’m not telling you how to use it. What about you?” He landed at the bottom and stood waiting for her to descend. 

“I’m not scared of anything,” she said, haughtily, as she stepped past him. 

“Not spiders or snakes?” He shone the light around the cement walls. 

“Nope.”

“Not small spaces or public speaking?”

She gave another snort. 

“Not fire or koalas?” 

He heard her feet shuffle to a stop as he stepped around the stairs to look behind them. “Who the hell is afraid of koalas?” she asked, incredulously. 

“I dunno,” he shrugged. “I heard they can have chlamydia.” She sputtered for a moment. “Oh, hey! There they are,” he announced, shining the light on the huge pile of boxes against the back wall. He waited until he heard her feet behind him again. “I’m also kind of scared of fire,” he admitted. “Not like, matches or anything, but… bonfires or the like.”

He plucked a sturdy looking box out of the pile. “How many should we take?”

“Probably three or four,” she offered. “That way the boxes aren’t too heavy when they’re full.” 

She hesitated, knowing she’d be showing her hand. That he’d know she went looking for information about him. But maybe she could let just this one thing slip. Just one. “I don’t blame you for being scared. Your face was set on fire. That would scare anyone shitless.”

He hesitated, glancing over at her, but she was pointedly not looking at him. He pulled down three more boxes and stacked them all together before handing the phone to Lily to hold. He hefted them up and turned back toward the stairs. 

“I wouldn’t, you know,” she said, quietly. “I’m an asshole, and I know it, but I wouldn’t use your fears against you.”

“Good to know,” he returned just as quietly, hiding his smile as he stepped up on the lit stairs. “Language, by the way,” he called behind him. He heard a huff of disgust, but the light never wavered.


	10. Chapter 10

Three hours later, when Ellie had taken to poking her head in every ten minutes moaning about starvation, they called it quits for the day. They agreed they’d have a bit more work to do, but until the handyman could come in and fix the shower, they’d done pretty much all the heavy work they could. They decided to just flip the mattress over until the new one was delivered. 

It took Calum’s puppy eyes and Luke’s pouty face to convince Michael that he should still cuddle with them instead of sleeping alone in the upstairs bedroom, so Michael reluctantly dragged all of his luggage downstairs, though he refused to unpack them yet. 

Calum called Ashton to ask him over for a band meeting after dinner, and Luke had given up on cooking and just ordered out. Michael took the remains of Luke’s clothes out to the garbage cans after Luke kept wistfully staring at the destroyed leather in the corner of the room. 

Ellie was ready for bed after dinner, but Lily was determined to stay up and meet Ashton. Calum agreed that she could be introduced to him, but that the meeting wasn’t for kids’ ears. Lily spent the rest of dinner sending narrow-eyed glares in his direction—which he ignored rather impressively. After dinner, she plopped herself on the sofa with her new phone and pretended to ignore everyone. 

She gave Ellie a kiss goodnight and, on a promise to tell Ashton how amazing her little sister was, allowed Michael to tuck Ellie in for the second night. When the doorbell rang, Lily tucked her phone away and folded her hands primly in her lap. Luke barked out a laugh at how innocent she looked. She just fluttered her lashes at him and lifted one corner of her mouth. 

Ash came in, arms waving in the air as he hugged first Calum, then Michael. He pulled Michael close and whispered something in his ear before giving him a smacking kiss on the side of the temple. When he let go, Michael had a peaceful smile and Lily wondered what he could have told him in five seconds that eased him so well. Then Ashton pranced into the living room, hugged the stuffing out of Luke, lifting the taller man up off of his feet, and planted himself in front of Lily. 

His bright hazel eyes were filled with laughter and his smile was pure joy. “Well, hello there, lovely lady. I am Ashton, the better fourth of these bastards.”

“Language,” Michael and Luke said in tandem. Ashton raised an eyebrow at Lily, scrunched his face and mouthed the word again. Lily accidentally giggled. 

“I’m Lily,” she replied. 

“Well, that’s wonderful,” Cal said, rushing over to pull Lily up from the couch. “You’ve met. You’re happy. It’s bedtime. Gotta go.” He hustled her off to the stairs and blew her a kiss goodnight. “Sleep well!” he called after her. She rolled her eyes and stomped up the stairs ignoring Michael, Luke and Ashton’s calls of goodnight.

Calum turned and waved Michael and Luke over to the couch, where they sat next to each other. Cal sat down on the coffee table across from Luke and Michael, and Ash joined him on the table. 

“I have some shit I have to tell you guys,” he began, staring down at his hands. Michael and Luke trade worried glances. 

“Okay,” Luke said, encouragingly. “You know you can tell us anything.” Calum gave him a wan smile.

“Before I tell you what happened, I need to tell you…,” he hesitated, shooting a look up at Michael. Those big green eyes stared right into his sou,l and he moaned, dropping his face into his hands. 

Ash put a comforting arm around him. “C’mon, man. Whatever it is, we’re here for you.” Calum shook his head into his hands, then gave a single nod before he lifted his head. 

“This is not how I wanted to tell you, Mikey,” he said, softly, his own brown eyes sad. 

Michael sucked in a small breath, then forced an equally small smile onto his face. “It’s okay, Cal. Whatever it is.” 

Calum’s face crumpled, and he bit his lip. “So, back in Bali…when we first got there…Crystal…she tried getting with me.”

Michael blinked then gave a tiny, wry smile. “Yeah, I figured I wasn’t her first choice,” he said. “I kind of assumed she’d gotten turned down by someone with how aggressive she was at trying to get me interested.”

“Yeah, well…it happened more than once,” Calum shook his head. “Both in Bali and…and after we got back.” Michael frowned. Luke looked confused. 

“You mean after she and Michael got together?” Luke asked.

“I mean…all the time,” Calum finished, softly. He looked up at Ash who gave him a squeeze. “I tried to never to be left alone with her,” Cal said. “And when I was, I got out of there as fast as I could. But she did it a lot. Nearly every time we had a get together.”

“So, she…flirted with you?” Michael asked, hesitantly. 

Cal squeezed his hands together in his lap. “No,” he managed in a whisper. “She flat out hit on me. She’d touch me. Rub up on me. Whisper things as she walked past. When she could corner me, she’d try to kiss me. She grabbed my…she grabbed me once. Started talking about how she’d quit being a vegan…for….” He gestured at his crotch. 

“Oh,” Michael nodded, wide-eyed. He seemed to shrink into the couch. “Did…did you ever…?”

He wouldn’t make eye contact with anyone and Calum’s heart started cracking. “Fuck no!” he barked out. “I would never do that to you, Mikey. Never.”

Michael smiled weakly and nodded. “I know. That was a stupid question. I shouldn’t have…I know that.”

“So, when I went over there today to get your stuff, she was there,” Cal continued, hesitantly. “She just followed me around at first. But, then she…she started talking. Started…touching me. She…she tried to…I shoved her away. She landed on the bed, which is good, I guess. Or I’d have been arrested for assault, I’m sure.” 

Michael pressed his lips together and raised his eyebrows before giving a small nod of agreement. 

“She started touching herself,” Calum continued, wincing. “Saying things... I…I just freaked out. I told her I didn’t want her. I’d never wanted her. I was only there to get some of your stuff for the next few days, but that I hoped you’d want to stay for longer. She…she asked if I was trying to rekindle…the three of us.” 

He looked up at Michael, eyes huge and sincere. “I didn’t know you’d told her. I wouldn’t have ever said anything like that if I knew she’d be able to make that leap.”  
Michael shrugged and nodded, so Calum kept going. “She said that Sierra would never let that happen. So, I told her Luke and Sierra were done. Crystal got pissed and ran off to call her, I guess. I finished getting your things and Crystal came back in.”

Now, he glanced at Luke. “She said…she said that Sierra was willing to take Luke back if he apologized and kicked Michael and the girls out. Then she said…that she’s single now, and if I asked nicely, she would…. She threatened that if Luke and I didn’t do those things, they would…tell everyone that we used to be together. And that we’re trying to get back together now. I…I’m sorry,” Calum pressed his fist up to his lips. 

“I didn’t know she knew about before,” he reiterated. “And I just panicked. I didn’t want her to touch me again.” Ashton ran a hand up and down Calum’s back while Luke reached out and pulled the fist down from his mouth. 

“It’s okay, Cal,” Luke said, soothingly. “This isn’t your fault. And it isn’t yours, either, Mikey,” Luke looked over just as Michael opened his mouth to speak. Michael snapped it shut and flushed that Luke knew him so well. 

They sat in silence for a few moments, then Luke huffed a breath out and nodded. “Okay, so we need to decide what we’re gonna do when they go public with their vindictive shit. Because I’m certainly not crawling back to Sierra, nor will I kick Mikey or the girls out. And Cal, you are going to stay as far away from Crystal as Mikey is.” 

“I mean it,” he said, firmly as Calum looked up at him with watery brown eyes. “She hurt Mikey and now we find out she’s been hurting you, too. Neither one of you is going to have anything to do with her from now on. You leave her to me and Ash.” Ashton nodded encouragingly at his boys. 

“So, the past is the past,” Ashton took over. “What you had could be excused as being experimental kids, or you could even go with the ‘we were lonely in another country’ excuse. But that doesn’t really matter if you actually _are_ planning on getting back together,” Ashton pointed out. 

“How do you all feel about that? I know how Cal feels,” he smiled at his friend, then bumped shoulders. “But I have no idea where you two stand.” Ashton glanced from Luke to Michael. 

Luke flushed, but threaded his fingers in-between Calum’s. “Cal and I talked it over a bit, already,” he admitted. “I was never happier than when I was with both of them,” he added, softly. “I’d like to get that back.”

Ashton nodded, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “So, the last time, you panicked and called it quits. What’s different now?” he asked, playing Devil’s Advocate.

“Ash!” Calum protested. 

“No, he’s perfectly within his rights to ask that,” Luke disagreed. “We made it through, but that was a pretty shitty time for all of us, I think.” He shrugged. “I’ve finally figured out who I am. And that I really don’t give a fuck if anyone else likes me, or not. As long as I have you three, and my family back home, the rest is icing,” he said, plainly.

“What if people respond badly to it when it comes out?” Ashton pursued. “What if it hurts the band?”

“Ash, the band means so much to me. You all mean so much to me,” Luke stared him dead in the eye. “But if I can’t be who I really am…I’m sorry. It’s not worth it anymore.”

Ashton looked at Calum. “Cally?” Cal shrugged. “We’ve become the rock band we always wanted to be. We’ve accomplished so much more than we had planned. I love this life, and I love all of you. But I’ve spent the last five years mourning the two people I love the most, stumbling around on numb legs with a broken heart. If this is the end, then so be it.”

“How do you feel about it, Ashton? You’re as much a part of this decision as us,” Luke added. 

Ashton smiled softly. “We’ve had an amazing eight years, gentlemen. And I for one, am not ready to give that up.” Calum flinched, but Ashton nudged him again. “Fortunately, I don’t think that will happen.”

Luke frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I think that with the right PR spin and some hard work from all of us, that this could solidify us as a band and you as partners rather than break us down and tear us apart,” Ashton shrugged. “I’m certainly willing to try so that my three best friends can have their happily ever after.”

Calum threw his arms around Ashton, dragging Luke up with him by their linked hands. They broke apart in a shower of laughter and smiles. 

“The only thing missing now, boys, is your third piece.” Ashton directed everyone’s attention over to Michael. “What do you think about all of this, Mike? Are you willing to make this work? Do you even want to try?”

“I mean, we don’t even know if you’re still interested in being with us,” Luke said ,bashfully. He didn’t know what to think as his words caused tears to spring up in Michael’s eyes and a pained expression to paint on his face. 

Michael worked his mouth, but nothing came out for long moments. “Things are so different, now,” he finally whispered. 

“Like how?” Ashton asked, as both Cal’s and Luke’s happy expressions dropped. 

“Like…we’re bigger now. More in the spotlight than we used to be. It’s not just three unknown boys exploring anymore,” Michael pointed out. “We have fans. We have a following.”

“You’re not wrong,” Ashton agreed. “But we’ve also established ourselves. We have a following because we’re good. We put out good music, we’ve started a charity, you’ve gotten a fucking ice cream named after you. I personally think those things will more than likely help rather than hinder you guys. And you have to admit, our fans are scarily exuberant. They love us. And they will continue to love us, and probably take on anyone who has something shitty to say, to boot.” 

Michael nodded, hesitantly. “Okay, but what about the girls?”

Ashton looked thoughtful, then nodded as well. “He has a point, guys. You wouldn’t be striking back up a relationship with Michael Clifford, Pringle-extraordinaire. He has a responsibility to those two girls, and we all know he won’t slack on it. Are you two prepared for a ready-made family?”

Luke gave a wry grin. “Well, at least that’s less embarrassing than the way Lily put it earlier.” He waved off the interested looks. “Like I told her, I love the both of you. I always have. I’ve been known to wonder what it would be like to raise a family with you. It doesn’t scare me,” he reassured them. “I’m kind of excited to be a parental figure. And all of us have had really great examples of parents who love and support us. I’m thinking that, together, we might make all of this work.”

Calum nodded. “I’m not afraid of the hard work it’s gonna take to make us a family. I _am_ afraid that you’re not going to give us a chance to try, though,” he added.

Michael continued to dart glances between the both of them. Eventually, his silence was telling and Calum drooped. Ashton squeezed him round the back and looked over to see Luke staring sadly at his and Calum’s linked fingers. Ash didn’t know what to do. He knew the boys cared for one another, but he couldn’t force Michael into anything. He sat silently, helplessly waiting until someone broke the silence. He wasn’t expecting what he got, though.

“For Christ’s sake, Clifford, stop being such a chicken-shit,” came an angry voice from above their heads. As one, they all turned to see Lily leaning over the banister of the stairs, her angry gaze fixed on Michael. “They’ve got just as much to lose as you, and they’re willing to risk it. What’s your real reason? And don’t try to tell me you don’t love both of them, too. I’ve been around less than 24 hours and I can tell you that argument is full of shit.”

“Language,” Luke mouthed. Lily glared at him. 

“And you also don’t get to use me and Ellie as excuses either. We can take care of ourselves. We’ll let you know when we need something. I’m pretty sure that between the three of you, at least one of you is capable of following directions. So, what gives?”

Michael flushed. “What if it doesn’t work out?” he asked, softly. 

Lily snorted. “You broke up once before. You know you can stay friends. You know it won’t hurt the band.”

“What about you?” he asked, pointedly. “I’m gonna have to try to figure out how to be a parent. Can we really afford me getting distracted with a new romance when something like that is at stake?”

“None of you are going anywhere, remember Michael?” she sneered. “You promised you wouldn’t ditch us.”

“And I won’t! Ever!”

“So, if we have ‘forever’, you honestly think that eventually, whether you’re together or not, all four of you aren’t going to treat us just like your kids? Even Ashton, who doesn’t actually want to fuck any of you?” she smirked.

“Language!” Michael, Luke and Calum snapped in unison. 

Lily rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Win-win either way for us, right? You’re stuck with us. The least you could do is be happy while you’re at it.”

“I…I don’t know,” Michael frowned.

Lily threw her hands up. “Boys are stupid,” she muttered, stomping back up the stairs.

Michael turned back around to find Ashton with his head buried in Calum’s side, his body shaking. “Ash?” he asked, worriedly. The others turned to look as well. Ash sat up, tears streaming down his face as he hiccupped laughter. 

“I think I’m in love,” he choked out. “I’m the proudest uncle ever!”

Michael rolled his eyes, making Ash howl even harder, to Michael’s confusion. “She does resemble you, I suppose.” He gave a pinched smile. 

“Oh, _hell_ no,” Ashton wiped his eyes. “That girl is 100% you, Mikey.” Michael frowned and opened his mouth to argue that when Calum nearly pushed Ashton off of the coffee table.

“Anyway,” he said, loudly. “So, Michael?” he directed softly at the older man. “What do you say? You wanna be with us again?” Michael tried to answer. He truly did. His mouth opened. He took a deep breath. But no sound came out. Calum watched anxiously, and then drooped again. “Yeah, okay,” he said in almost a whisper. 

Michael jumped to his feet. “I have to…go check on…on Ellie,” he blurted out. He took off for the stairs before anyone else could make comment and nearly tripped racing up them. 

Calum sniffed and cleared his throat. “I was so sure…,” he rasped out, wiping at his eyes.

Luke leaned in and took his hands. “I still am sure,” he brought one up to his mouth to place a sweet, soft kiss. 

Calum snorted. “You did see the same thing I did, yeah?” Eyeing the stairs that Michael disappeared up. 

“I did,” Luke agreed. “I saw three adults and one very mouthy child corner him. Ashton isn’t wrong. Michael and Lily are pretty much the same person. When you push, they push back. When you demand, they run. I think, given some time, Michael will come around. We just have to be patient.” Calum shrugged half-heartedly. “Do…do you want to wait on us until he’s ready?” Luke asked, hesitantly. 

Calum’s head jerked up and his wide eyes met Luke’s. “No! I’ve waited so long already, Lukey, don’t make me wait anymore,” he begged. 

Luke smiled softly. “Of course not, love. It’s you and me to the end. At least until it becomes you and me and Mikey to the end.” Calum darted in and stole a quick kiss from Luke. 

“Good,” he smiled. 

Ashton clapped his hands together and stood up. “On that note, I’m gonna head home and get some sleep. We have studio time tomorrow. I’ll pick up some coffee and pastries before heading over. Good luck, my boys,” he grinned down at them before heading out the front door. Calum and Luke stood and made their way to the downstairs bedroom, curled into one another’s arms, shutting off lights as they went. 

***********

Michael hit the top of the stairs as Lily came out of her bedroom holding her pajamas. They both jerked to a stop and stared at one another for long moments. “Where’s the fire, Michael?” Lily deadpanned. 

Michael’s cheeks flushed rosy, and he twitched out a shrug. “I was…just coming to check on Ellie,” he offered up. 

Lily just blinked. “Right. She’s asleep, but feel free to go stare at her for a while if it helps.” She hooked a right into the bathroom and shut the door on him. He heaved a sigh of relief and went to see his smallest girl. 

She was asleep, her hair fanned out on the pillow and her arms wrapped around a stuffed penguin Luke had puppy-dog-eyed Michael into getting for her. He smiled softly and stepped back out of the room to leave her to her sleep. He fidgeted for a few moments on what to do next, but ended up seated against the wall in the hall across from the bathroom door. 

Eventually, the door opened, wafting out the smell of peppermint toothpaste and the cucumber melon hand soap Luke bought for the sink. Lily stepped out into the hall, arms full of her dirty clothes, and she froze again. “And, you’re still here,” she sighed. Michael shrugged again. “Why are you still here? Is Ellie okay?” Michael quickly nodded. 

“She’s fine.”

Lily twitched, impatiently. “Okay. She’s fine. I’m clearly fine. So that leaves you. What’s wrong with you?” 

Michael pulled a leg up and wrapped his arm around it. “Nothing,” he answered, thinly. “I was just thinking that I should maybe stay up here in the third bedroom tonight. Just in case you _do_ need something.”

Lily rolled her eyes. “I’m 10. I’m not stupid. Get us some walkie-talkies tomorrow to use if we need something from you. Right now, go downstairs and stop hiding from your boyfriends.”

“They’re not my boyfriends,” Michael said, softly, staring at his kneecap. 

“Well, it’s not for their lack of trying,” she quipped back. “Seriously,” she sighed heavily. “What the hell is this? You know they love you. You know everyone in the band is okay with the relationship. You know me and Ellie don’t care. What could possibly still be the problem?”

Silence.

“You _do_ know they love you, right?” Lily didn’t see how anyone with eyes couldn’t tell that.

Michael shrugged. “I know they _think_ they love me. I just don’t believe they know all of what they’re getting into with me. I…I have…some issues.” He sighed in frustration. “This is stupid. I’m not using a 10-year-old for a therapist. You wouldn’t understand.”

Lily narrowed her eyes and studied him, then leaned against the wall. “You’re right. I have no idea what it’s like. I don’t understand doubting yourself worthy of being loved. Of believing someone when they tell you there’s nothing wrong with you. Of not trusting your heart to someone because it never works out and you always end up hurt and lonelier than when you started.”

Michael looked up to meet fierce eyes. “I have absolutely no idea what it feels like to be afraid to trust someone, even when —especially when—it looks too good to be true. To spend all my time waiting for the other shoe to fall. For someone to come to realize I was right all along, that I’m not worth loving. Yeah, Michael. I have no idea what any of that feels like.”

Michael surged up to his knees and then halted when Lily flinched. “Lily,” he whispered, pained. 

She shook her head. “If we’re both so worthless, Michael, why even bother trying?”

Michael clenched his fists and pressed them to his legs. “You’re not worthless, Lily,” he answered, fiercely. “You’re special. You’re beautiful, smart, and funny. You’re a precious gift.”

“People return gifts, Michael,” she said, emotionlessly. 

“No!” he bit out. “I’m not sending you away. You belong here. You belong with me. With Luke and Calum and Ellie. With Ashton. I know you can’t see it now, and I’m sorry I don’t know how to prove it to you. But I will keep trying, every day, to earn your trust. To prove that you’re loved.”

“So, I should just stop holding on so tightly to everything that keeps me emotionally safe? I should loosen up to give you a chance to prove I’m worthy of being loved? Hmm,” she nodded, then tilted her head. “That sounds like good advice, don’t you think?”

He closed his eyes and slumped. “Goddamnit,” he whispered, knowing when he was outwitted. 

Lily smirked. “Language,” she replied, sweetly. She pushed off of the wall and headed to her room. “Goodnight, Michael,” she called over her shoulder. 

Michael gave a wry smile at her back. “Goodnight, Sunshine,” he returned.

He moved softly back down the stairs to find the living room dark and everyone gone. He hesitated for a moment; they were probably already in bed. He almost had himself convinced that he should just go back upstairs and wait for the morning, but then he realized the level of shit talking Lily would get out of it. 

So, he took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the master bedroom. The lights were off, but the moon was shining through the window just enough for him to see Calum pinning Luke to his pillow as he dropped kisses all over the younger man’s collarbone. They clearly hadn’t heard him enter quietly, so Michael took advantage of the situation to watch hungrily as his two loves ran their hands over one another’s bodies. 

Calum’s dark skin and Luke’s lighter skin looked like shadows and moonlight to begin with. Watching them in actual moonlight, Michael could picture them as a sculpture in some fancy art museum. 

As he gently pushed the door closed behind him, Luke started at the sound. He peered through the darkness, leading Calum to shift to the side and follow his gaze. “Michael,” Luke said, softly. “Hi.” 

Michael smiled, fondly. Lukey, ever the peacemaker. “Hi,” he returned just as softly. 

Calum glanced from Luke’s face to Michael’s, worry in his expression. “Are you staying with us tonight?” he asked, then his eyes widened. “Not that you have to. Or…or not that you can’t,” he tried to back pedal. “I just thought, ‘cause you went upstairs…I’m gonna shut up, right now.” He flopped face first onto the pillow by Luke’s head. 

Michael exchanged a grin with Luke, who seemed to be a bit quicker on the draw. “I would like to stay with you tonight,” he replied. “I’d like to stay with you every night…if the offer is still open?”

Luke held one long arm out in welcome and Calum jerked his head up to stare wildly at Michael. “Really?” he asked, hope evident in his voice. 

Michael nodded. “Really, really.”

Calum shoved himself upright in the bed and nodded frantically. “Yes! Please. We…we would love that. Because we love you.”

Michael took the final steps to the bed and piled on top of them both, still fully dressed. “I love you both, too,” he whispered. They lay there, just holding one another, reveling in what they’d thought they’d lost, for long minutes. 

Eventually, Luke started to wiggle. “Now that you’re here, how about you dress for the occasion,” he said, slyly, tugging at Michael’s belt. And the moonlight lit up the three of them as they relearned each other’s bodies and hearts.


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning, Ashton was up with the sunrise, doing yoga. He was glad for having practiced his meditation and calming stretches--and imbibing his first coffee of the day--when he finally pulled his phone out. After five minutes of scrolling through his social media feeds, he knew that one coffee was nowhere near enough, though.

Sierra and Crystal had made good on their promises. The first things he saw were the damning tweets--and thousands of replies. Ashton glanced through a few and could only hope that maybe it wasn’t going to be quite as awful as they’d all thought. Then, he checked his messages. His eight messages from management and the PR people. 

Wonderful.

With a sigh, he got ready for the day and headed out. They still had to meet Matt at the studio after lunch. Hopefully, they could get a handle on it before then. This called for more coffee.

Ashton used his key to open the door, juggling the 6 cups of coffee and chocolate while trying to hold two pastry bags with his teeth. As he was trying to set down the drinks to use both hands to pull his key from the door, a bag fell from his mouth. 

“…uck!” he muttered. 

“Michael would say ‘language’,” came a small voice. His gaze shot over to the stairs where a small girl was sat, hands holding her chin as she watched him fumbling around. 

“Sorry,” he winced, opening his mouth and thereby dropping the second bag. “Fuck!” he bit out again, glaring at the bag. Then his eyes widened and his head shot up to look at the small girl again. “I’m so sorry,” he shook his head. 

The girl burst into giggles, immediately transforming her into a miniature ball of sunlight. She hopped up and trotted down the stairs, coming to a halt at his feet. She tilted her head up to look at him curiously. “Who’re you?”

Ashton blinked rapidly. “I…I’m Ashton?” he answered, hesitantly. “I was here last night, but I think you were in bed? I’m…Luke and Michael are…and Calum…we’re in a…in _the_ band together?”

“Oh,” the little girl grinned. “I’m Ellie. Would you like some help?”

He blinked again, then his brain rebooted. “Uh…yes? Please. Yes, please.” Ellie picked up the bags and turned to skip into the kitchen. Ashton finished yanking his key out of the door and shut it quietly, turning to pick up the drinks and follow her. 

She plopped the bags on the table, then pulled out a chair and climbed up on it to watch as Ash fumbled putting the drinks down on the table. He fidgeted with them, turning the carriers this way and that, not sure what to say to the still smiling little girl in front of him. Thankfully, that issue was resolved by another girl, not quite so little, shuffling into the kitchen as well. 

“Oh, good. You’re back,” Lily yawned, dragging out a chair next to her little sister. “You can go wake them up. I don’t want to see any naked asses this early in the morning.” Ashton gaped at her, eyes wide, while Ellie just snickered. 

As he hesitated, Lily glanced over at him, a tiny frown between her brows. “Today would be lovely,” she gave a small wave of her hand in the direction of the downstairs bedroom. 

Ash just nodded and hurried that way, not even trying to justify to himself why he was taking orders from a 10-year-old. He knocked, but with no answer, he took a deep breath and cracked the door open. The first thing he saw was the mound of covers at the end of the bed. His heart gave a happy twist as he remembered how, any time they stayed in a hotel, the trio’s covers would be always end up thrown to the end of the bed, or onto the floor.

He’d asked Calum once if they jizzed all over them every time, and the younger boy nearly threw up from laughing so hard at him. In between hysterical laughter, he told Ashton that all three of them ran hot when they slept. And, while it was awesome in the wintertime, any other time they just got too hot under the covers to keep them on. 

Calum must have shared with Michael and Luke what conclusions Ashton had come to, because Luke just blushed a lot any time Ashton set foot in their room. Michael spent an inordinate amount of time fucking with Ashton every time he sat on any surface in their room. “Oh, Ash, I dunno if you want to sit _there_. Eventually, he’d gotten bored with it, but that had been a long fucking three weeks. 

Ashton shrugged off the memory and stepped in the room. Almost immediately, he nearly tripped over a shoe. Grumbling, he flicked on the light and grinned as he took in the path of clothes and shoes that littered the ground from door to bed. Yeah, his boys were back, he thought smugly. 

He followed the trail up to the bed where three bodies were curled into one another, covered barely to waist level by a thin sheet. Calum lay in the middle, his arms tight around the other two. Michael rested his blond head on Calum’s chest and Ash could see the outline of his leg thrown over the other man’s. Luke was nuzzled up under Calum’s chin with his ridiculously long legs pulled up in a near fetal position as he tried, even in sleep, to get as close to his lovers as possible. 

Ash moved up to the end of the bed and cleared his throat. As he’d guessed, the slight sound was enough to wake Calum, and the blue haired man cracked an eye open to acknowledge him. “Morning, boys!” Ash crowed. 

Luke started awake at that, his riot of curls falling into his face as he tried to turn his head. “S’okay, baby, s’just Ashy,” Calum mumbled. Luke collapsed back onto Calum’s chest as he grunted a rough good morning. 

“The girls are up, and I brought coffee. Haul your asses out of bed so we can go over some shit,” Ash continued. Calum nodded and Ashton grinned as he backed out of the room. 

It was a warm balm to Ashton’s soul that he knew exactly what was going on back there, even as he shut the door behind him. Calum would send Luke off to get dressed while he cajoled Michael into opening his eyes. They would meet in the kitchen in 5 minutes or so, Calum—bright eyed, Luke—a bit blurry eyed but still functional, and Michael—who was like the walking dead until he got his first sip of coffee. 

He still had his grin plastered on his face as he tugged out a chair and sat on the other side of Lily. “They’ll be out in a minute,” he announced.

She looked at him narrowly. “I do not want to know what you saw in there, nor do I I ever want to experience it. Please remind them that Ellie is a small, impressionable child, and that I will never stop with the dick jokes, _and_ my allowance will be tripled every time I have to wake them up.”

Ashton snorted out a laugh. “I will let them know your terms,” he grinned at her. She gave a smirk back at him and they settled in to wait for the men. Sure enough, minutes later, the door popped open and Calum trotted out with a huge smile on his face. 

“Good morning, my people!” he broadcasted. He dropped a kiss on first Ellie’s head—to her giggly delight, then Lily’s—who tried to cringe away, but was unsuccessful, and finally Ashton’s—who turned his head into the kiss as though it were his due. Then he plopped into the chair next to Ashton’s just as Luke trudged out of the room. 

Luke gave a small smile to the table and reached out to ruffle Ellie and Lily’s hair before sagging into the chair next to Calum. Finally, there was a thud as the bedroom door shut and everyone at the table looked over to see Michael shuffling toward the kitchen. 

He rubbed his eyes and yawned, staggering in a vague line to the table. He peered through bleary eyes at the figures around the table, looking almost confused to find them there. With a slight shrug, he stumbled up behind Lily’s chair and gave her a lazy hug. Before she could jerk away or form enough of a thought to verbally lash out at him, he’d let go and moved on to Ellie. She giggled and scratched at where his beard scruff tickled her. He collapsed into the chair next to her and dropped his head on the table. 

Ashton rolled his eyes fondly and began placing coffee cups in front of everyone. Even Lily and Ellie got cups. He winked at them. “Hot chocolate. We don’t need to get you addicted to coffee quite yet.”

Michael sniffed hopefully as Ashton put the cup in front of him and lifted his head. That put him eye level with Ellie as she lifted her own cup up and took a big swig. Immediately, she spit it out, followed by a high-pitched cry of distress. The cup landed on the table, tilting dangerously before Luke reached over with his long arms and steadied it. Michael went from slumbering swamp creature to anxious parent in seconds. 

He had shoved his chair back and Ellie scooped up in his arms by the time Luke got the cup under control. He got her to the sink with cool water running over the wet spit spot on her shirt before anyone took their eyes off the cup. Michael kept up a steady stream of, “It’s okay, baby, let me see, you’re gonna be fine,” as he reached out to pluck a cup off of the drainboard and fill it with water. “Here, Petal, take a sip. Can you feel your tongue?”

Ellie nodded, tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry I made a mess. It was hot,” she said in a tiny voice. 

Michael clutched her to his chest. “Oh, Petal, I know it was, baby. No one is mad at you. We’re just worried. You aren’t in trouble.” He turned back around and carried her to her chair, snagging the dish towel off of the oven. He set her down carefully and blotted at the stain on her shirt. Lily reached out and pulled Ellie to her for her own hug and to investigate Michael’s handiwork. 

Crestfallen, Michael handed her the towel and turned back to the sink. Luke leaned in to touch her leg. “You okay, squirt?” he asked, softly. 

Ellie gave him a wan smile and nodded. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.” 

Luke shook his head and opened his mouth to reassure her, but Ashton cut him off.   
“Ellie, I am so very sorry,” he choked out. Calum reached out to wrap a hand around his shoulder as Ashton’s chin trembled. “I got it extra hot because it was a long drive to get here. I forgot completely to warn you and Lily. I am so sorry. I’m such an idiot. Please, please forgive me.”

Ellie nodded seriously. “It’s okay, Ashy. Lily always tells me not to gulp anyway. I’m okay.”

Ashton nodded back, but it was clear he was still shaken. Calum kept his arm around him and sipped at his own coffee with his other hand. Michael came back to the table with the cup from the sink and the gallon of milk from the fridge. He popped the chocolate lid open and tipped a third of it into the glass, then filled the rest of the coffee cup up with cold milk. 

“Here, Petal,” he said, quietly. “Try this.” He popped the lid back on and gently pushed it in front of her. He glanced up and met Lily’s eyes, but dropped his gaze quickly when she double checked the cup by taking a sip first. He came back from putting the milk away and quietly sat back down, staring at his own coffee cup. 

Luke looked across the table, capturing Lily’s attention. He looked pointedly from Michael to Ellie, and then pursed his lips, raising an eyebrow. Ashton and Calum watched, amusement slowly taking over from concern as Lily fidgeted, trying hard to keep ahold of her frown. Eventually, her cheeks pinked up and she sighed. 

“Go ahead, Ellie,” she said, stiffly, handing the cup back to Ellie. “Michael…Michael made it perfect. It won’t burn you again.” Ellie happily snatched at her cup and, in spite of her previous statement, proceeded to gulp it. Michael still didn’t look up, but a tiny smile curled the corners of his lips. Lily saw it and rolled her eyes at Luke, but kept her mouth shut as Ashton passed out the pastries.

After everyone was full and content, Ashton sighed. “Okay, so on to the not so great part of today.” He pulled out his phone and watched sadly as Calum’s eyes narrowed, Luke’s jaw tensed and Michael just flat out sank further into his chair. 

“What we were worried about yesterday…well, they’ve done it,” he announced. “Both Crystal and Sierra have posted on their Twitter about the three of you having been in a relationship before, and that you’re back together. They also added a few flourishes to their retelling of events that make it sound…well, pretty shitty.”

Ashton pulled up the tweet. “Here’s Sierra’s: _I’m devastated to share with you all that Luke and I are no longer together. As you might guess, I am beyond shattered. I have been thrown out of my home to make room for my replacementS. Luke has decided to hook up AGAIN with BOTH Michael Clifford and Calum Hood. I just thought you all should know._ ” 

Luke sighed heavily and ran a hand down his face. “Well, we can’t sue for slander, because everything she said is technically true.” 

Calum hmphed. “You didn’t throw her out.”

Luke shrugged. “I gave her two hours to pack her shit and get out of my house.”

“I notice she didn’t say anything about destroying your bedroom. Or that she started it by issuing an ultimatum that she couldn’t live with,” Calum added, rolling his eyes and reaching out to grasp Luke’s hand. 

Ashton poked at his screen a couple more times, then frowned. “Dammit! Crystal’s blocked me since I saw it this morning.” He swiped a few more times, then tossed his phone on the table in frustration. 

“I got it,” Lily announced calmly, her own phone in her hand. “Crystal says: _I’m so shocked and confused right now! Michael left me! I don’t even know what’s up or down anymore. He came back from Australia with two kids from some drugged-up whore there, moved in with Luke, and then sent Calum to strip our house down. He even took my dog! Now I hear from Sierra—who Luke just broke up with!—that they’re all living together in some big gay threeway? What is happening? I feel so betrayed and destroyed right now._ ” 

Silence hung over the table until Lily gave a chuckle. “She really doesn’t think much of my mum, huh? That’s like the third time she’s called her a crack-whore. So,” she glanced over at Michael, who had his elbows on the table and his hands knotted up in his hair, before addressing Ashton. “Do you think people will actually believe the bewildered bimbo act she tosses out there? Or the wounded warrior shit Luke’s ex is going for?”

“Language,” Calum and Luke murmured together. Lily rolled her eyes again and ignored them. 

Ashton sighed. “From the responses I saw, our fans are either just asking why, or denying that Luke and Michael would ever do something like that. Neither Sierra nor Crystal were very well liked in the fandom. We never really understood why. I guess the fans just didn’t want Luke or Michael with anyone who wasn’t them.”

“Wasn’t ‘them’ the fans? Or ‘them’ each other?” Lily smirked. Michael gave a tiny moan and sank further into his chair. Luke flushed but held on tightly to Calum’s hand. 

Calum just snorted in laughter. “Muke til the end, baby,” he grinned. 

Ashton returned the grin. “So, we have some questions to answer before we go any further. PR is calling and texting me almost non-stop. I’m guessing they are you guys, too, you just have your phones off.”

Luke flushed again. “We didn’t want to be….”

“Interrupted?” Ashton winked when Luke dropped his gaze to the table. “It’s fine, guys. We needed to talk this out before going to PR anyway. So, I’m guessing, seeing you this morning,” he waggled his eyebrows, “that you’re together and you’re staying that way?”

“Yes,” Calum responded, immediately. 

Luke looked up from the table and sent a small smile Calum’s way. “Yes,” he agreed, softly.

They both looked over at Michael, who finally untangled his hands from his hair to look back at them. He smiled shyly and nodded. 

“Alright, then!” Ashton clapped his hands together gleefully. “We’re all going forward with Operation: Not Fucking Hiding It This Time!”

“Language,” Cal, Luke and Michael chorused, then nodded. 

“It’s gonna be rough,” Calum offered. “But we’re worth it,” he continued. Luke brought their hands up to kiss the back of Calum’s. 

“We are worth it,” Michael agreed, sweetly smiling. 

“And you, Ashy?” Luke asked. “Are you sure you’re okay with it?” 

Ashton grinned and leaned back in his chair. “I’ve been waiting for this shit for years, boys.”

“What about us?” Ellie piped in. 

“You’re right, Ellie,” Luke smiled at her. “We should have asked if you and Lily are okay with us being part of your family.” Lily snorted as she continued to scroll through Twitter. The adults saw the flinch Michael gave and how his smile slowly began to fade from his face. 

Ellie, however, continued on none-the-wiser. “Yes!” she nodded, wildly. “We get a Daddy Michael, a Daddy Luke, a Daddy Cal and Uncle Ashy. That’s way better than some mean old foster parents. But…are your fans gonna hate us, too? Like Sierra and Crystal do?”

Michael looked horrified at the thought and reached over to pluck Ellie up out of her chair and deposit her on his lap. “Absolutely not!” he denied, fiercely. “When you’re ready, I want to post some pics of you on Twitter and Instagram and tell everyone who you are and how special you are to us.”

“I’m ready!” Ellie bounced. 

Michael squeezed her gently with a smile, then tilted his head over to Lily. “Both of you have to be ready, Petal. I’m not gonna post anything without your sister’s say-so.”

“Really?” Lily smirked at him over the top of her phone. “My say-so, huh? Well since my say—” She happened to glance over at Luke and Calum just as she was winding up for a huge slam. Luke just shook his head and looked away from her, staring sadly down into his lap. Calum had pursed his lips and was staring at her with such a look of disappointment on his face that she cut off in mid-sentence. A dart of her eyes to Ashton, and he was frowning, confused. 

Finally, a peek at Michael, and he had his eyes closed, his bottom lip pinched between his teeth. He looked like he was waiting for a physical blow. She sighed, tossing her phone onto the table. “Fine. But I’m not smiling like an idiot in the picture,” she grumped. 

Ellie squealed and bounced in Michael’s lap. He opened his eyes and, when he looked at her, Lily could see faint hope in them. He blinked, and then they just radiated gratitude. He let Ellie hop back into her chair and he stood up. 

“I’m gonna go get my phone,” he said, huskily. 

“Hey, pick mine and Calum’s up, too yeah?” Luke called. Michael nodded and trotted into the bedroom. 

“Thank you, Lily,” Calum said, softly. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. 

“Whatever.” She stared at her arms, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.

Michael came back quickly, carrying three phones. He absently handed off Luke’s and Calum’s as he pulled up the photo screen. “Can…can I take your picture?” he asked, hesitantly, holding his phone up like somehow Lily and Ellie wouldn’t know with what. 

Ellie immediately leaned into Lily and beamed, her smile lighting up the room. Lily rolled her eyes and threw an arm around her sister, tugging her close. She gave her own closed lipped, barely-tolerant smile and held still for the clicks of not only Michael’s phone, but the other boys. 

“That’s awesome,” Luke cocked an eyebrow. “Now how about one where you don’t look like we’re going to waterboard you when we’re done?” Lily’s smile got a bit tighter and her eyes narrowed as she looks from the camera to Luke’s face. He took the moment to cross his eyes and stick his tongue out at her. Completely against her will, a giggle burst from her lips. The boys would have made great paps. Every one of them caught the brief moment before Lily got herself under control again. 

“All right, that’s enough,” she grumped, pulling away from Ellie and snatching her phone up again. 

“Nope!” Ashton called out. “I want one with the whole family in it. All three guys and their two lovely girls.”

Lily heaved a huge sigh. “After this can we be done?”

Ashton nodded. “For a bit. Then we have to decide who’s going in to the studio today and who’s staying home with you two. Alright, boys! Squish in!”

Michael, Luke and Calum pushed their chairs back a bit and leaned into each other. Michael held out his arms for Ellie to crawl back into and Lily went around the back of the chairs to lean in between Luke and Calum. 

“Don’t forget to smile, Lily,” Calum grinned as she settled in. 

“Oh, I won’t,” she said, sweetly. And when he glanced at her, wary of the change in tone, she just gave him a beautifully innocent smile. Which she continued through the picture snapping. When Ash looked at the pic in the screen, he narrowed his eyes, zoomed in, then began cackling. He took a few steps closer and held out a fist to Lily. She bumped it over Calum’s head. 

Calum looked suspiciously between her and Ashton. “What’s so funny?”

“You’ll see,” was the only response Ashton gave as he dropped back into his seat. “Now, I have to come up with the perfect quote to go with this pic, because you know it’s gonna get looked at for years to come.”

Luke sat back down, taking a long drink of his coffee, and Ellie hopped off of Michael’s lap. “Can I feed the puppies?” she entreated, her hands coming up in a pleading gesture. 

Calum grinned. “Of course, you can,” he answered. “I’ll help you. We have to make sure Piggy doesn’t eat Moose’s or Duke’s food.”

“Hey! Quit implying my dog is fat!” Luke called out after them. Calum just flew a bird back at him. 

The table fell back into silence as everyone poked at their phones. Finally, Michael sat back and held out his phone to Lily. “Um…is this okay?” he asked. She looked suspiciously between the phone and his hopeful expression before gingerly taking the phone from his hand. 

“ _Luckiest guy in the world right here!_ ” she read. “ _This week, I got to add these two beautiful girls into my life. Please welcome Lily (10) and Ellie (4) to both the 5SOS fam, and mine. XOXOX_ ”

“Is that okay to post with the pic?” he asked, hesitantly. 

Lily forced her hand to relax on his phone as she handed it back to him. She forced herself into an unconcerned shrug. “It’s fine,” was all she said. 

She turned her attention back to her phone and waited until Michael was back to pecking at his screen before she blinked rapidly enough to clear the tears from her eyes. She shot a wary glance over at Ashton, only to find him staring right at her, a knowing smile on his face. He just tilted his head at her and went back to looking at his own phone. She peered over at Luke and saw him actually wipe an eye. She could tell from the heat in her cheeks that she’d just turned bright red, but neither man called her on it.

“Before we post anything, Mike, lemme call PR and tell them where we’ve decided to go with this,” Ashton announced. 

He hit a button and grinned. “Be vewy, vewy quiet,” he whispered. Then, “Hey!...Yes, I am aware of some disturbing tweets this morning.” He rolled his eyes at Luke. “…I am also aware that no one has returned your calls. Possibly because it was night time. And they were _sleeping_.” Luke snorted and Ashton grinned, holding up a finger to him. 

“Well, someone has responded to your queries now. Would you like me to answer, or would you like to waste some more time screaming about how inconvenienced you were? Excellent!” Ashton wiggled in his chair. Michael exchanged glances with Luke and they both slammed a hand over their mouths to keep from laughing. Lily just sat back to watch. 

“So! Here’s the news…Luke and Sierra are no longer together. She has been removed from the house along with all of her belongings. Crystal and Mike are no longer together. He has chosen to let her stay in the house for the moment. Luke and Michael, along with Calum, are now all living at Luke’s place. They are also rekindling a romantic relationship from the past with each other. …Yes, all three of them. …Yes. Together.”

He rolled his eyes again and took a drink of his coffee while waiting for the person on the other end to stop bitching. “…Mmm hmm, well, that sounds very important, and I’m sure if I gave a shit, I would feel terrible for you. However, since I don’t, I will just remind you that we have full creative license over our music, per our contract with Interscope—which I’m going to guess you have right there in front of you.

“Also, nowhere in the contract was any clause, or subclause, addendum or note that would allow you to threaten me, the band, our music, or our livelihood. I had a lawyer check that before we signed. As to where we stand now, the notion that you would threaten something like that upsets me to the point where I am done speaking with you,” he said, almost sweetly. 

“You may inform Ms. Donatto that I am no longer comfortable with you as our A&R liaison for Interscope. If she has a problem with what we do with our dicks or our living space, she may feel free to contact me directly. I will be putting out a tweet very soon to our fans on our own social media platforms. Please avoid countering anything I or the boys might say so I don’t need to have our lawyer contact you. You have a great day, now!” 

As he hung up, a round of applause met him. Luke, Michael, and a returned Calum gave him a standing ovation while Ellie jumped and clapped, not really understanding, but totally willing to help celebrate. 

Lily smirked. “No wonder you like me. You’re a total asshole.”

“Language!” Calum, Luke and Michael said, automatically. 

Ashton just smirked back. “I am. I have the feeling we’re going to be peas in a pod, my dear niece.” 

Lily froze for a second, then shrugged. “So, have you decided what your tweet is going to say?” she asked instead. 

“Not completely,” Ashton admitted. “Why don’t you boys get your showers over with and get dressed for the day. We have to be at the studio by noon. Lily and I will finesse the tweet and surprise you.”

Warily, the other men stood. “Ashton…,” Calum began, only for Ash to wave him off.

“Remember…I’m a wordsmith.”

“Of sorts,” Luke finished off, giving a fond smile as he hustled Calum away from the table. 

Michael hesitated. “Lily? Are you sure you’re okay with me tweeting this?” Lily didn’t look up from Ashton’s phone. She just nodded stiffly. Michael looked slightly disappointed, but he nodded and turned away, already posting it as he went. 

Ashton watched as the other three had retrieved their things and headed upstairs to use the only working shower in the place. He waited until Ellie had scampered off to play with the dogs again before he hmphed. 

“What?” Lily asked, warily. 

“Just wondering if you’re giving him a hard time cause you think he truly deserves it, or because you don’t know how to tell him that you might have been wrong.”

Lily glared, but didn’t move. “I’m not wrong. He’ll fuck up. You just wait.”

Ashton pursed his lips and nodded. “Probably. He’s a pretty big fuck up.”

Lily gave a hesitant frown. “What?”

“Oh, yeah,” Ashton continued. “Been fucking up most of his life. Don’t believe me, just go eyeball some of the videos we’ve made over the years. He couldn’t figure out how to keep his mouth shut when we first started. Like, literally. Not just him saying stupid shit, but every picture we took had his fucking tongue out.” Ashton imitated most of the pictures Lily had seen in her ‘research’ on pre-adoption Michael.

“But…weren’t you going for punk-rock, though?” Lily asked, curiously. 

“Well, yeah, but I mean…every picture?” Ashton gave her a raised-eyebrow look. “And his hair? We were all waiting for him to go bald. Couldn’t keep it the same color for more than two weeks. Some horrible colors, too.”

“I dunno,” Lily shrugged. “The blue was pretty. And the galaxy.”

“Hmmm.” Ashton commented, fiddling with his phone. “Well, now there’s the Crystal thing. I mean, I’m betting if he’d just groveled a _bit_ more, she would have given in.”

Lily sat bolt upright in her chair. “Are you fucking kidding me?” she snapped. “That bitch had it out for us from moment one. I’ve read her DMs to Michael about us. There’s no way she was gonna accept us, no matter what he did.”

“Maybe,” Ashton shrugged, looking doubtful. Then he brightened. “Maybe when he finally fucks up and you get to be rid of him, he can go back to her. Or, maybe not,” he sighed. “She didn’t want him back like Sierra did Luke. He’s probably fucked that up beyond repair.”

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” Lily snapped. “That bitch was the problem. Not Michael. He didn’t do a goddamned thing wrong. She’s just a horrible human being. And he would never go back to her, anyway. Not now that he’s with Calum and Luke.”

Ashton shrugged. “Give him time. He’ll probably fuck that up too.”

Lily jumped up from her spot next to Ashton. “Why are you being such a dick?” she demanded, incredulously. “He’s your friend. Your bandmate. Your _brother_ , you said.”

“I’m just telling you that I won’t be surprised when he fucks up, either. I was just agreeing with you, Lily,” Ashton pointed out, waving his phone at her. “Now are we gonna do this?” She just stared at him, disgust all over her face. 

“What?” he sighed, exasperatedly. “I’m just saying I’ve never seen a situation that Michael can’t fuck up. He fucked up his engagement. He fucked up Luke and Sierra. He’s probably gonna fuck up the band no matter what we do to try to stop it. He’s admitted it, hasn’t he? You’ve heard him apologize for it.” 

“He’s apologized because that’s just what Michael does,” Lily snapped. “Less than a week with him and I can already see ‘I’m sorry’ is his catch phrase. And he’s usually apologizing for shit that’s not his fault. Crystal isn’t his fault. Neither is Sierra.” She pointed at Ashton with a small, angry finger. “And if the band gets fucked up, that’s on Luke and Calum, too. Hell, even _you_ should have some blame, because you agreed to it!” she scowled. 

“This whole situation is shitty,” she flung an arm out. “Michael tried to step up and taken responsibility, even though none of it is his fault. He’s trying to hold it all together. You’re just blaming him for shit he can’t control. Why are you even saying this?” she demanded, suspiciously. “You just told off your PR person, but now you’re just gonna throw all the blame on Michael?”

“I don’t see why you should care,” Ashton raised a brow. “You’re not gonna be around for the fallout after he _fucks up_ and gets rid of you.”

Lily’s face was red, her teeth were grinding together and her fists were clenched. She couldn’t think of another articulate thing to say that didn’t involve just spewing profanities at top volume, so she settled. She hauled back her foot and kicked Ashton hard in the shin. He barked out a cry of pain and lifted his leg up to cradle the injury. He stared at her; eyes wide in surprise. 

“He is _not_ going to get rid of us!” Lily spat out, pure fury on her face. “He _promised_. You are a fucking dick, and don’t think for a second that I’m not telling Luke and Calum what you said!” 

Ashton couldn’t hold it any longer. He grinned. 

“What are you smiling about, you jackhole?” she demanded. 

“He promised?” Ashton repeated slowly. 

“Yeah, he did,” she snapped. 

“So, is he or isn’t he gonna fuck up and break that promise, then?” he finished, softly, still rubbing his shin. Lily’s eyes narrowed and the less angry she became, the bigger Ashton’s grin got. 

“Did you just…?”

He nodded. “Oh, I did.”

She bit the inside of her cheek and looked from his shining eyes to his huge hands holding onto his bruised leg. “I ought to kick you in the other one,” she scowled at him. 

“I would appreciate if you didn’t,” he moved the uninjured leg to the other side of the chair. “You have a hell of a leadfoot.”

“You’re an asshole,” she offered up before throwing herself back into her chair. 

“I know,” he replied. “You ready to help me with this, now?”

She hesitated for a moment, glancing up at him through her lashes. “Did…did you mean any of what you said?”

Ashton’s smile disappeared. “In a way,” he answered. “Every one of those things--besides Crystal and Sierra, of course--was something he and I have talked about before.” She looked full on at him, her brow raised inquisitively. “Michael’s self-esteem is in the toilet, Lily,” Ashton announced, honestly. 

“Over the eight years I’ve known him, I’ve seen him devastated by offhand comments that you and I would have ignored. Ugly. Fat. Talentless.” He started listing on his finger, a pained frown on his face. “Worst singer. Worst writer. Too loud. Too in your face. Too mouthy. Too pushy. Desperate for a girlfriend. Not good enough for the girlfriend he had. Not good enough for the band. Bringing us all down with him.”

He sighed and shook his head. “It breaks my heart that he thinks that way about himself. That he takes in some hateful tweet at 3 fucking a.m. and internalizes it until he’s sure that any given shitty situation is his fault. I don’t know how he gets out of bed sometimes, with what’s going on in his head. Michael would do anything for any one of us even if it destroyed him. So, did I mean any of it is true? Fuck no. Is he still going to take responsibility for all of it?” He shrugged. “Yeah. He is.”

He looked her right in the eye and pointed his phone at her. “And if you’re gonna be family, you need to be aware that what you say may have simply pissed off one of your foster parents, but it will destroy that loud-mouthed, gentle soul up there.” He pointed up to the second floor. 

“Your anger will fester in his chest until he would gladly rip his heart out and hand it to you for forgiveness. You may not be fond of him right now, but I can see on his face that he’s already in love with you and Ellie. Give him the chance to show you that he’s worthy of you returning it.”

Lily dropped her gaze to the table and they sat in silence for a few moments. Eventually, Ash started poking at his phone. “How’s this sound? _Some major shit going down in the 5SOSfam this week! My brothers, Luke and Michael finally made peace with their feelings for each other and for my other brother, Cal, and have called it quits with their lady friends. We are heralding in the age of Mukalum! Maluke? I dunno. I’m no good at names. Fam, get on a ship name for Cal, Luke and Mike! In addition to the new romance, we also have some shorter new additions to our little family. Welcome Lily and Ellie! I have no idea how you’re gonna sort out what to call the boys, but I’m pretty damn excited to be Uncle Ash!_

Lily quirked an eyebrow. “I’d come up with a different word than ‘shit’ to start with.”

“Hmmm,” Ash nodded, thoughtfully. “Good point. How about ‘happenings’?”

Lily nodded. “Better.”

He edited it on screen. 

“I don’t like the term ‘lady-friends’,” Lily added, “but something tells me that’s probably just you.” Ash nodded with a smile. “I also don’t feel comfortable with you bringing up what we’re gonna call them. Can you change that?”

Ash frowned while pecking away at the keypad. “Of course, I can. I would never throw you under the bus like that, Lily. Your comfort is important to me. To all of us. How bout I just take the whole part from ‘I have no idea’ up to ‘call the boys, but…’ out? Are you okay with me leaving Uncle Ash in, or no?”

She shrugged. “I think that statement is very you. And it sounds very supportive. You should probably leave it in.”

“Alrighty, then. Add the picture…and…sent! Now we wait.” He grinned and rubbed his hands together.

Sure enough, less than 10 minutes later, Calum came barreling out of the bathroom. “Goddamnit, Ashton, you couldn’t have taken another photo?”

Lily flinched--something that wasn’t missed by Ashton, as much as she’d hoped it might be--and whirled around, but found Cal was grinning as he held out his phone at Ashton. His screen showed the recent picture of the three men and two girls; Specifically, two men, one girl and Lily smiling sweetly as she gave Calum bunny ears. 

He stomped up behind them, gave Lily another smacking kiss on the top of her head and lamely sent a kick that didn’t connect at Ashton’s leg. Ashton jerked the leg back. 

“Hey! Enough abusing the Ashton today, Cliffhoodings family!”

Cal gave him a confused look, but let it drop when Lily went bright red and jerked her phone back up. The other two men followed Calum in at a more sedate pace, but still clearly amused.

“So, who has to be in the studio today?” Luke asked, beginning to mess with the coffee machine, knowing Ashton would want more the second his cup was empty. 

“For sure, me and Michael,” Ash answered, tossing his phone on the table. “Matt wants Michael to re-record some of his background vocals and then for us to work a bit on the instruments on _Lonely Heart_.”

“Well, then, I guess it’s up to the ladies,” Luke sent a smile at Lily. “You wanna go grab your sister so she can be a part of this convo?” Lily nodded and pushed away from the table, leaving her phone on the tabletop. 

When she disappeared, Calum took a seat at the table. “Well, if Luke and I aren’t needed, we should probably take some time to do some grocery shopping. He and Michael did all the ‘random stuff’ shopping the other day, but didn’t come back with much food.”

Luke nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Um…,” Michael added, softly. “Could you pick up some walkie-talkies, too?” Luke cocked his head like a confused bird and Michael flushed. “Lily mentioned they might come in handy and night with us downstairs and them upstairs.”

Ashton grinned. “Not to mention you’d save a fuck-ton of allowance.” All three men eyed him, baffled, as he giggled insanely.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Calum asked. 

Ashton leaned his head back as Ellie came skipping into the kitchen again and climbed up in Calum’s lap to comfortable. Lily followed and met Ashton’s giggly attention warily. “Isn’t that right, Lily?” he snickered. “Picking up some walkie talkies at the store today will save on allowance down the road.” Everyone looked even more confused when Lily barked out a laugh and fist bumped Ashton before taking a seat back in her chair.

“I’d imagine it would eventually break the bank without them,” she replied wryly, sending Ashton off in gales of laughter again. 

“Okay,” Luke dragged out, shaking off the joke they clearly weren’t going to be let in on. “So, ladies,” Luke ruffled Ellie’s hair, making her beam at him. “Michael and Ashton have to go into the studio today, and Calum and I are going grocery shopping. Which would you like to do?” 

“I wanna go to the store!” Ellie bounced. 

Calum grinned, wrapping his arms around her. “Then we’ll go to the store!” he bounced, too. 

Luke smiled at the pair and raised his brows at Lily. “Well, I guess we’re going to the store, again,” she sighed. 

“You don’t have to,” Ashton pointed out. “If you’d like to come with us to the studio, you could watch us work. Maybe we can get you started on your inevitable music career,” he winked. 

“And if you get bored, you can read,” Michael added, quietly. 

Lily looked in his direction but he was deliberately not making eye contact with her. “How long would we be there?”

He looked up, catching her gaze immediately. “Usually we lose patience with it after about five or six hours. We could stop and get some lunch for you on the way and Luke and Cal could have dinner waiting when we get home.”

Luke couldn’t help himself. He cooed over the word ‘home’ coming from Michael’s mouth and leaned over to give him a chaste kiss. Michael smiled up at him and Lily was surprised to see how it lit up his face. Deep in her stomach, she felt a niggle of guilt. She bit her cheek and tried not to let it show on her face. 

“Fine. I guess that would be okay. Ellie, are you okay going by yourself with Calum and Luke?”

Ellie squealed as Calum’s fingers gently dug into her sides. “I’m fine!” she squeaked out. “Daddy Cal and Daddy Luke will take care of me.”

Lily’s lips thinned when all of the adults’ eyes snapped over to her. “It’s fine,” she said, shortly. “What Ellie calls you is her business.” Everyone fell silent at that, with the exception of Ellie, still giggling at Calum tickling her. 

“Maybe…maybe you should sit down with Luke and Cal and make a list of your favorite foods, or snacks you’d like to eat,” Michael said softly into the silence. Lily looked hard at him. He flushed. “I…I mean….”

Lily gave a terse nod. “Sure,” was her only response. 

Michael nodded back hesitantly and fidgeted for another minute or two before he pushed his chair back. “I’m gonna go get warmed up in the music room.” He didn’t wait for a response before disappearing into the other room.

Michael started with the good intention of playing some scales and then segueing into _Lonely Heart_ , but he couldn’t focus. He didn’t want to put too much weight on Lily’s almost polite discourse, but he hoped so hard that she might be coming around. Even a little bit. He’d known the girls for less than a week and they’d already wormed their way into his heart. He didn’t know what he’d do if Lily never let him into her’s. 

Frustrated, he put the electric down and snagged up Luke’s acoustic. It was miles away from the ones they both had in high school, but the familiar weight in his lap sent him reminiscing, and he let his fingers play absently. He shouldn’t have been surprised when the opening guitar riff to Amnesia pealed out into the room. He must have played the song a thousand times and it had been years since he didn’t hurt playing it. He got lost in it and when the final chord fell silent, he opened his eyes and was startled to see Lily leaning against the door frame. 

“Uh, hi?” he offered. 

She just cocked her head as she stared at him. “Did you know you were smiling and crying?” she asked. 

He slowly raised a hand to his face and, sure enough, his fingers came away wet. “Oh, um…sorry.”

Lily rolled her eyes and stepped in to the room to sit on a bench by the door. “Why do you keep apologizing for stupid shit?”

“Lang—” He cut himself off as she sent him a dirty look. “I…I don’t know. I guess cause…well, crying and smiling is pretty weird.”

“So…why were you, then?” She crossed her arms and leaned back. 

“Um…well, we started playing that song about the time that Luke broke it off with us,” he stammered. “It was a beautiful song and we all loved the hell out of it when we started playing it, but when Luke…left us…it was like…,”

“All of a sudden it was personal?” Lily prompted. 

Michael wiped his cheeks dry and nodded. “Yeah. We play it at pretty much every set we do, so I’ve always had such a bittersweet, love/hate relationship with it. This…this is the first time I’ve played it when…,”

“When it didn’t hurt,” Lily finished. 

Michael smiled at her. “Yeah.”

“Hmmm,” was her response. “It’s pretty,” she eventually offered. 

“Thanks.” He dropped his head again, fiddling with chords now that they’d run out of things to say. 

“So, can you play other instruments? Lily asked. 

Michael gave another start, which made the corner of Lily’s mouth curl up. “Uh, I guess…maybe a little piano. Bass isn’t totally different. I started out as the drummer, which was…awful,” he chuckled. “That didn’t last long at all til I put out the call for Ashton. I mostly focus on guitar. Do…you know how to play any instruments?” he tentatively asked. 

She shook her head. “Never been around instruments before. Foster homes don’t tend to have a lot of extra money for things like that.”

Michael nodded, flushing. “Right. Sorry.”

Lily sighed. “Nothing to be sorry about,” she answered. He nodded again and Lily watched his mouth form the beginning of the word again before he clamped down and pressed his lips together tightly. “So, show me something.”

His head came up like a startled deer. “What?”

“Show me how to play something,” she clarified.

“Oh!” He hesitated for a moment, like he had no idea what to do, then he jumped up so fast that he almost dropped the guitar. She watched him carefully lift down another acoustic off of the wall and he pulled a chair up in front of her. He placed it carefully in her arms and then settled in the chair. He placed his fingers on the frets and then strummed.

“This is a G major. It’s usually the first chord people learn.” Lily eyed his fingers and attempted to copy him on placement. Then she strummed. It didn’t sound the same and she frowned. “Um… can I…?” he held his hands out and hovered over hers waiting for permission. She nodded, and he gently moved her fingers a fraction over. “Try it now,” he suggested. 

She strummed again and the sound was perfect. A grin of satisfaction came over her face and she looked up, pleased to have gotten it right. He smiled back at her. “Good job, Lily. Try it a few more times and I’ll show you C major. Then you can practice switching between them.”

Time flew by, and an hour later, Luke poked his head in the room. “Hey, you two,” he smiled at the two blond heads bent over guitars. “It’s time to get going.” Michael took the guitars and replaced them on the wall. When he turned back around, Lily was still standing in the room. 

“You okay?” he asked, concerned. 

“Yeah. I’m good,” she returned. After a moment of hesitation, she shrugged. “Thanks for teaching me.” He gave her the same smile she’d seen on his face when Luke kissed him, and that same pang of guilt crept further up into her throat. 

“Thanks for letting me share one of my favorite things with you.”

She nodded and dropped her eyes to the floor. “Would…it be okay if you taught me some other chords? Or a song or something?” Then she shook her head, irritated with her own presumptuousness. “Never mind, you’re busy. You have an album to get ready.”

“No!” he took a step toward her, his hand held out plaintively. “I would…I would love to teach you how to play. And I’m never too busy for you, Lily. Any time you need something, or want to talk, or play, or whatever…just let me know. Please.”

She glanced up at his earnest face and gave a terse nod. “Thanks,” was all she managed before spinning on her heel and darting out of the room.


	12. Chapter 12

Thirty minutes later found Calum, Luke and Ellie climbing into Luke’s SUV, and Ashton, Michael and Lily settling down in Ashton’s car. Lily had a backpack full of snacks, her jacket, an empty notepad and her phone. If the entire studio process bored the hell out of her, at least she had something to fall back on. 

She pulled her phone out now, as the trip would take nearly a half hour. Determinedly, she pulled up her Twitter and went searching for responses to the two posts the band members had made. The first, the one Michael had posted and all other members had retweeted, had nearly a thousand likes even though it had been up for no more than two hours. 

The responses were…surprising. Of course, there were the few nasty ones: Michael should send his bastard kids back to Australia, Michael had no business raising kids, people hoping Lily and Ellie would die. She rolled her eyes at those. She was pretty sure not a word of meanness would pass their lips if he actually called them out on it. Whatever. 

The surprising part was how many people seemed genuinely happy for Michael. How many wished the girls well, even though they hadn’t even known they existed yesterday. The ones who said how beautiful the girls were and how lucky both them and Michael had each other. She hmphed, satisfied that those people were in the majority, and moved on to Ashton’s post. 

Things were a bit more hostile over there. There were several long, angry battles going on between Muke fans, Cake fans and Malum fans. There were the expected hateful bigoted posts about being gay. There were the Crystal and Sierra fan posts that painted the boys as slutty, gay demons who hurt their precious girlfriends. 

But there were also the posts that congratulated them. That said they’d always known there was something between them. There were even some that thanked them for being leaders in the world of LGBTQA and polyamory. Overall, fans just seemed confused, but hopeful that their boys were happy and safe. 

Satisfied in general, she moved on to stalking Michael’s history. Again. She really hoped he never looked at the history on her phone. Or his. 

She found a pic of Michael holding his ‘Signature Melody Maker’ and was quietly impressed with both the guitar and his goal of paying homage to a female guitar player. She could hear Ashton and Michael having a quiet conversation in the front and waited for a natural pause. 

“Michael?”

He turned around in the seat to see her. “Yeah?”

“Where is this?” She turned the screen to him so he could see his guitar and watched his face. It fell almost immediately. 

“It’s still at…Crystal’s house,” he said. 

“Your house,” Ashton pointed out, “that Crystal is squatting in.”

Michael shrugged and pulled back into his seat. “Yeah,” he replied. 

“What is it?” Ashton asked, taking his eyes off the road to glance at Michael’s now sad face. 

“My Gibson,” Michael said softly. 

“Is it safe there?” Ashton frowned. 

Michael shrugged again. “I’m guessing if she’s gonna destroy anything, it would be my computer setup. She’d probably sell the guitar.”

“You should kick her ass out of that house, Mike,” Ashton pointed out. “Before she tears everything up.”

Michael nodded, but looked out the window. “Yeah,” he agreed, quietly. “I should.”

The car fell back into silence and Ashton met Lily’s eyes through the rear-view mirror. She smirked at him and held up her phone before switching screens. Pulling up Calum’s name, she opened up a text. 

**You and Luke need to do something today before you go home.**   
**Why? What’s wrong?** came the almost immediate answer.   
**You need to go back to Michael’s house and get his Gibson and his computer.** There was a significantly longer pause.   
**Did he ask for them?** She rolled her eyes.   
**No, dumbass. He wouldn’t ask for a cup of water if he was on fire. I asked about the guitar just now and he looked sad.** Another pause.   
**😊 aww, are you worried about Mikey’s feelings?**   
**Fuck you, Hood. Just do it.**  
 **Language 😉** he replied.   
**We’ll get right on it, Princess <3 **

Satisfied for the moment, she tucked her phone away and met Ashton’s eye in the mirror again. She nodded and he tucked his fist back behind the seat. She reached up and fist bumped it, much to Michael’s confusion. Ashton quickly directed the conversation elsewhere and before they knew it, they were pulling up into the parking lot of the recording studio.

They headed in, Lily trailing behind, kind of worried that her being there was going to cause a problem. She clearly shouldn’t have worried, because though she snuck in and hovered near the door she was noticed almost immediately.

There were three men in the room. All three were wearing band tees and jeans. Two of them had short hair and one had long. The long haired one spotted her and his whole demeanor changed. He went from all business, pointing to dials and screens, to squealing—not unlike Ellie in a garden center—and shoving Ashton out of the way to get in front of her. 

He grinned hugely. “I’m gonna guess…Lily?” She nodded and he punched the air. “Yes! I was hoping Mikey would bring his babies in. Is the little one here, too?” He craned his neck to look back down the hallway. 

“No,” Lily answered, warily. “She went grocery shopping with Luke and Calum.”

“Aww,” he looked disappointed for a moment, then perked right back up. “Are you interested in learning something today?” She nodded hesitantly. He actually bounced on his toes and snagged her hand. “Yes! Throw your bag over there,” he pointed with his other hand at a pile of coats, then continued pulling her up to the controls. “I’m Matt, by the way,” he suddenly seemed to remember his social graces. 

“Hi, Matt,” Lily laughed. She looked over to find Ashton and Michael watching her with happy smiles and for the first time, she returned them. Ashton winked at her and Michael gave her another of ‘those’ smiles. This time, instead of guilt choking her, his smile just made her feel warmer. 

***********

As Luke pulled out carefully into traffic, he heard Calum snicker. “What?” he asked, checking again over his shoulder as he merged. 

“You realize that you are driving like an old grandma, yeah?”

Luke frowned, but didn’t take his eyes off of the road. “We have a kid in the backseat, Calum. Do you want me to drive like I’m 23 or do you want me to drive like we have precious cargo?”

Calum grinned and pulled out his phone. “You do you, Lukey.”

“That’s what I thought,” Luke huffed. “Ellie, baby, you want some music?” he called out.

“Can we listen to the forgetting song?”

Calum shot a confused look over at Luke, who smiled happily. “Ellie heard Mikey playing _Amnesia_ this morning before he started teaching Lily guitar.”

“Ah,” Calum nodded and pulled it up on Luke’s phone before settling back down and scrolling through his own. He’d have to show Luke some of the sweet messages the fans left on Michael’s post about the girls. His eyes narrowed as he continued reading. And he’d have to make sure Michael skimmed right on over some of the shitty ones about him being a dad. 

He’d just gotten into looking at the responses to Ashton’s post when he got a text alert. He was surprised to find it from Lily. “Ah…Lukey, my love,” he grinned down at his phone. 

“Hmmm?” Luke shot him a look. 

“Lily would like us to make a trip over to Michael’s house before we go shopping.”

Luke frowned. “Why the hell would she want you to go _back_ to that place? She heard…” He looked through the rearview, but Ellie was staring out the window, happily humming along. “She heard what Crystal said to you,” Luke finished a bit quieter. 

Calum shook his head. “We can both go. And if we take Ellie, Crystal for sure won’t start that kind of shit.” 

“So, why does she want us to go at all?”

Calum wiggled a bit in his seat. “She asked Mikey about his Gibson.”

He paused. 

“Yeaahh?” Luke dragged out with a chuckle. 

“She said, ‘ _He looked sad,_ ’!” 

Luke jerked his head around to stare at Calum for a moment. Calum nodded gleefully and Luke turned back to the windshield. A moment later and a huge grin came over his face. “Hey Ellie,” he called out. We have an errand to run before we hit the grocery store.” 

Ellie’s eyes got wide as they pulled into the driveway of Michael’s and Crystal’s house. “Are we gonna have to talk to the mean lady?” she asked, uncertainly. 

Luke and Calum traded meaningful looks. “Just for a minute, sweetie,” Luke replied. “We have to pick up some of Michael’s things.”

“She’s not gonna like that.” Ellie shook her head, still staring up at the house. 

Calum snorted. “No, bunny, she’s not. But we’re worried that if we leave Michael’s things here, that she’ll break them.”

“Cause she’s mad at him?” Ellie frowned, transferring her gaze to Calum. He nodded. Ellie’s eyes narrowed. “Let’s go,” she demanded, already hitting the button on the seat belt and reaching for the door handle. 

Calum grinned at Luke. “I fucking love these kids,” he said under his breath. He hopped out and snagged Ellie up, resting her on his hip. “I have an idea,” he told her. “If I set up video, can you hold the phone and record everything?” Ellie nodded so hard her hair bounced. “Perfect.”

He set the phone up and showed her how to point and record. He got ready to set her down when Luke put a hand on his arm. “No. You keep a hold of her. She won’t touch you if you have Ellie.” Calum nodded, giving a grateful smile, and Luke lead the way to the front door. He banged on it as Ellie started the recording. Three more bangs and a doorbell press and the door cracked open. 

“What the hell do you want, Luke?” Crystal’s face peeked out through the opening. 

“We’re here to get some more of Michael’s things,” Luke said, face expressionless. 

“I don’t believe you,” Crystal snapped out. “You’re here to get even with me for my tweet! You and Calum are gonna hurt me!”

Calum snorted and Luke sighed. “Crystal, Ellie is recording this. If it would make you feel better, you can get your phone and record it too. We don’t want to hurt you. We don’t give a shit what you tweeted. All we want are Michael’s things.”

“Go away! I’ll call the police!”

“And just like last time, Crystal,” Calum glared, “Go ahead. You call the police. Luke will call Michael. I’ll stand here and record everything so when they drag you out of the house you’re illegally living in, we’ll have it all recorded for posterity.”

The door slammed shut and the chain rattled before the door was thrown back open. “I fucking hate both of you,” Crystal hissed angrily at them. “I always have.”

Luke rolled his eyes and shoved past her. “There is literally no possible way we could care less,” he flung over his shoulder. Calum stepped through the door as well and Crystal slammed it shut after him. “I’ll get the Gibson,” Luke called out. “You break down his gaming setup.”

“What?” Crystal gaped. 

Calum set Ellie down and she faithfully pointed the phone back up at Crystal. “And I’ll keep taking pictures of the mean lady,” she announced. Calum snorted with laughter and headed for the office. 

“Stop pointing that at me, you little brat,” Crystal snarled, threateningly. 

Calum paused for a moment. “Despite the fact that it would be on video and I’d likely be arrested, if you lay a single finger on our little girl, I will break you, Crystal.”

Crystal gave a rage-filled shriek and spun around, heading into a nearby room and slamming that door behind her. “Should I keep recording, Daddy Cal?” Ellie piped up.

“You can if you like,” he smiled. “But come in here with me just in case.” She nodded and skipped in behind Calum. 

Once Luke came downstairs, guitar case in hand, and started helping Calum break down the computer, it went much faster. Luke dumped out Crystal’s laundry and started dropping peripherals into the basket. Calum hauled out the heavier pieces to the SUV while Ellie kept her eye and the phone on the door Crystal disappeared behind. Luke glanced around the house and yanked a few pictures off of the walls and tabletops as well, tossing them into the laundry basket. Finally, he stood, hands on hips, looking around the house. 

Calum came back in from his last trip and wiped his hands off on his shirt. “That everything, you think?”

“For now,” Luke said, absently. “We have got to get Michael to kick her ass out of here.”

Calum nodded in agreement. “But until then….” He swung Ellie up in his arms. “…we have the most important thing right here!” He tossed her up and she squealed. 

“Daddy Cal! You’re making the movie all jiggly!” 

Luke leaned in and gave her a kiss on the forehead, then he gave Calum a kiss on the lips. “Let’s get this stuff home so we can go shopping!”

“Yay! Shopping!” Ellie cried out. 

As they pulled out of the drive, Calum looked back at the house. He could just make out Crystal’s face in the downstairs window before she jerked the curtains shut. He was pretty sure they hadn’t heard the last of her.

***********

Lily was partly overwhelmed and partly thrilled with her day. Matt had made sure to explain everything he and the others were doing. A lot of it didn’t make sense, but she jotted notes down in her notebook to look up later and that seemed to put Matt over the moon. 

She was also pretty impressed with Michael and Ashton’s performances. She wasn’t sure how Ashton made it the whole way through a concert if he went that hard on every song. And Michael’s fingers had her gawping in amazement. The sounds he pulled from his guitar, the riffs, just by feel and while singing at the same time were astounding. It made her excited to be learning guitar from him, and kind of confused as to why someone who could play like _that_ would want to go all the way back to ‘this is a G chord’ territory.

She wasn’t playing or mixing, but by the end of the five hours, she was exhausted. The techs gave her fist bumps and Matt hugged the stuffing out of her, sending her off with his phone number in case she had any questions. 

Stuck in the car for nearly 30 minutes with a pair of very sweaty men meant that, by the time they made it home, she was ready to bolt for the door and fresh air. She ran into the house ahead of them when Ash started coming after her for a hug with a wicked smile on his face. Michael grinned as the door slammed shut behind her. 

“Good work today, man,” he turned back to Ashton. “You coming in for dinner?”

“Nah, I promised Matt we’d pick up a bite when he finishes,” Ash replied. 

Michael nodded and pulled him into a one-armed hug. “Cal and Luke tomorrow, so I probably won’t see you,” he said. 

“Text me how you like your surprise,” Ash smiled. Michael looked confused, but Ashton just winked and hopped back in the car. 

Shrugging it off, Michael headed into the house. Lily had disappeared by the time he’d taken off his jacket and shoes, but he could smell something wonderful cooking and he heard laughter coming from the kitchen, so that was his first stop. He scratched MooseMoose and Duke on the way there and stepped over a sprawled out, sleeping Petunia. 

Luke and Calum were standing at the stove, Calum stirring something while Luke stood behind him, arms wrapped securely around his waist. “Hey,” Calum said with a smile. They both turned to look at him and Luke pulled away, bounding over to give him a rib-crushing hug and a sloppy kiss on the cheek. 

“Mikey! We missed you, babe!” He pushed a now laughing Michael over to the stove so Calum could claim his welcome home kiss as well. 

“Where are the girls?” Michael asked, as Luke sandwiched him in between the two men.

“Ellie is playing in her room and Lily poked her head in here judgmentally before taking off for parts unknown,” Calum answered with a smile. 

Michael nodded. “I think she had fun today. Matt totally fell in love with her,” he smiled. “They exchanged numbers so they could ‘talk shop’ together.”

Calum gave the simmering food one last stir, then turned around. He exchanged grins with Luke and then leaned in to kiss Michael again. “You have a surprise waiting for you.”

Michael frowned. “Ash said something about a surprise. He wouldn’t tell me what.”

“Mmm,” Calum nodded. “Go check the bedroom.” He pushed Michael that direction and Luke moved in to wrap his arms around Calum again, both of them grinning excitedly. Shaking his head in fond exasperation, he did as he was told, entering the bedroom and flicking the light on. 

He froze, staring in wonder at the bed. In an open guitar case, there sat his signature Melody Maker Gibson. The one he’d waited his whole life to own. The one he’d thought for sure Crystal would have sold or destroyed. The one Lily had specifically asked him about in the car earlier today. 

As he gently pulled it out of the case, sitting on the bed and wrapping his fingers around it, he recalled the conversation that morning and the weird fist bumping Lily and Ashton had done. And he knew the angry, prickly stand-offish girl he was still terrified to talk to sometimes had made this happen. She had realized how much it meant to him…and she had made it happen. 

Carefully, he placed the instrument back in the case and locked it up. Then, he wiped his face clean of the tears he’d spilled and headed back to the kitchen. Luke and Calum were still in the middle of the room, holding on to each other, waiting impatiently for Michael to come back out. They cooed at his red face and teary eyes and enveloped him in a hug that made him feel more secure than he’d felt in months. 

“Thank you, guys,” he whispered. “Thank you for facing her again, Cal. Thank you for being there for him, Luke. And thank you both for the Gibson.”

As they pulled apart, Calum swiped his thumb under Michael’s eye, collecting the last of the tears. “Well, it wasn’t originally our idea, you know, so we can’t take all the credit.”

Michael felt his eyes prickle again and he smiled. “I know. I’m gonna go find her right now.” He gave each man a peck on the lips, then headed out of the kitchen to find himself an angry girl with a huge heart. He hesitated as he stepped out of the room, not sure where to even start looking for her. Then, he heard the barely audible strum of guitar strings, and he smiled. 

He leaned on the doorframe, arms crossed, watching Lily’s tiny fingers stretch to reach the right strings. She didn’t look up, but he knew when she’d noticed him watching her. Her body tensed up a bit and her fingers didn’t sit quite right on the chord. He stepped into the room and snagged up the chair he’d sat in that morning, pulling it over in front of her again.

“Here,” he said, softly, repositioning her fingers. She let him, her hands moving exactly where he placed them, even as her body stiffened up even more. She strummed, and the sound of a perfect chord made her lip quirk up a bit. She practiced switching from G to C for a few minutes, Michael sitting patiently in front of her, making minor adjustments as she played. 

Finally, she shrugged. “You’ve been playing all day. I’m sure you’re tired of it. You don’t have to stay and listen to me butcher basic chords,” she addressed him tightly, never looking up. If she had, she would have seen him bite his lip and shake his head. 

“I love watching people learn how to play,” he returned. “Teaching people how to play. Teaching _you_ how to play. Guitar is my favorite thing ever behind my family.” She snorted at that and was extremely surprised to watch Michael’s finger come up under her chin and lift it. She met his gaze warily, fingers frozen on the frets. He smiled fondly at her.

“ _You_ are my family right along with Luke, Cal, Ash, and my parents. You and Ellie.” She shrugged and tugged her chin off of his fingers, dropping her eyes back down to the guitar strings. “I wanted to thank you,” he said anyway. “For the Gibson.”

Her shoulders crept up a bit closer to her ears. “Luke and Calum got it, not me.”

He breathed out a tiny laugh. “I guess they did. It was a case of great minds thinking alike, I suppose. They randomly decided to pick it up on the same day that you asked me where it was. Coincidence is real, huh?”

She could feel her face starting to burn. “Yeah, I guess,” she agreed. 

“I suppose I should send my thanks out to the world, then, for it’s amazing timing.” She shrugged. “Thank you, world,” he said with a smile in his voice. “Thank you for the kindness that brought it back to me.”

“I guess…every now and then, the world doesn’t have to suck,” Lily responded, quietly. 

“Karmically, I’m confused,” Michael said after a long while of watching her switch up chords. “I don’t think I’ve done enough good in my whole existence to be gifted with both of my loves back, two beautiful young ladies to add to my family, my dog and my guitar back with me…all in one week.”

She didn’t respond, and they sat quietly again, just listening to Lily strumming the strings. “Dinner is about done,” Michael finally said. “You should go get washed up. I’m gonna find Ellie and herd her to the bathroom.” 

Lily just nodded, still plucking strings, and Michael moved to the doorway. “Michael?” she called. He glanced inquisitively over his shoulder to see her actually looking at him. She opened her mouth to speak, then seemed to thing better of it. She shook her head and dropped it again.” Never mind. See you at dinner.”

“Okay, Sunshine,” he said, softly, stepping out the door. Lily heaved a huge sigh and couldn’t decide if it was a sigh of relief…or regret.


	13. Chapter 13

The next day, when Luke and Calum headed off to the studio, Lily decided to stay home with Ellie and Michael. Ellie had planted herself in front of the TV to watch Frozen, cuddled up with all three dogs, while Michael put his computer back together in the game room. Lily started out with the movie, but ended up lurking in the doorway watching Michael sort out the 50 different pieces of computer hardware into some order that was clear only to him.

The doorbell rang and Michael looked up from the small space he was wedged into, plugging in random cords. Lily grinned at the expression of alarm on his face, and pushed off of the doorframe. “I’ll get it. You keep figuring out how to turn that from a rat’s nest into a working computer.”

Michael gave a relieved smile and nodded. “Gimme just a minute to crawl out of this hole and I’ll be right there.” 

As she walked through the living room, she pointed at Ellie who was trying to untangle herself from the blankets. “No,” she warned. “You do not open the door to anyone, you are four.” Ellie rolled her eyes, making Lily wonder if it was that annoying when _she_ did it, but settled back down amongst the dogs. 

Lily peeked through the curtain. “Well, fuck,” she whispered. 

Lily may not have met her in person, but there were more than enough online pictures of her floating around for identification. Lily unlocked the door and opened it just wide enough to fit her body in it. “Hello, Sierra,” she offered, face expressionless. “What can I do for you?”

The short brunette scrunched her nose and looked as though Lily were the worst thing she’d ever smelled. “Who the hell are you?” she demanded. “And how do you know who I am?” 

Lily cocked her head. “What can I do for you?” she asked again. 

“You can get out of my way so I can talk to Luke,” Sierra snapped out, pushing forward. Lily didn’t give up an inch and Sierra wound up in Lily’s face, their chests touching. “Move, you little shit,” Sierra growled.

“Luke isn’t home right now. He’s recording,” Lily offered with a chilly tone. “Feel free to text him.”

Sierra’s eyes narrowed and she curled her lip angrily. “I don’t want to text him. I’ll just wait inside for him.” She shoved Lily back with both hands. The door slammed back, bouncing off of the wall and, had Lily not been expecting it, she would have ended up on the floor. 

Ellie watched, first curious, then her eyes wide with fear as Lily came stumbling backwards and a strange woman stepped inside, slamming the door behind her. “Lily?” Ellie squeaked out. 

“Go get Michael, El!” Lily ordered, planting her feet again, not taking her eyes off of Sierra.

Ellie rolled off of the couch and bolted for the game room. It couldn’t have been more than 10 seconds before heavy footsteps could be heard running down the hallway. Michael burst into the room, a panicked expression on his face. Upon seeing Sierra looming over the little girl, he went immediately from panicky to fuming. 

“Lily, come here,” he commanded, angrily. All the dogs suddenly sensed the change in mood and jumped off the couch, barking. Lily took a few steps backward and Michael moved up to meet her. He pulled her gently behind his back and raised his chin at the woman in front of them. “What are you doing here, Sierra?” he demanded. 

“I’m here to talk to Luke, not you. So, fuck off, Clifford,” Sierra snapped out.

“Luke isn’t here.” he replied, ignoring her insult.

“I already told her that,” Lily chimed in. “I guess she didn’t hear me. She does seem to be the kind who’s impressed with listening to herself talk.” 

Michael couldn’t quite hold back the snort of laughter, and Sierra looked incensed. “You don’t talk to me like that, you little bitch!” She took a step closer. 

Michael moved into her space, eyes narrowed dangerously, though he was still attempting to be polite. “Luke isn’t here, Sierra. And this is Lily’s home. She’s welcome to speak any way she likes in it. You are trespassing, and probably breaking and entering, because I’m pretty sure Lily didn’t just let you in.”

“No, I didn’t.” Lily poked her head out from behind Michael. “She shoved me inside and followed me.”

Michael’s face turned thunderous. “You put your hands on my kid?” he asked, his tone turning frigid. 

Sierra just sneered at him. “Your _kid_? Whatever. She was a total fucking stranger last week. Don’t act like she’s your only begotten daughter all of a sudden.”

“Get out, Sierra,” he ordered, his fists clenching at his sides. “If you need to talk to Luke so badly, text him. But right now, get the fuck out of this house and don’t come back.”

“And what are you gonna do if I don’t, Clifford?” She poked him in the chest with a heavily lacquered nail.

Michael stepped forward, almost touching her, his hands coming up and his weight shifting to the balls of his feet in preparation to knock her the fuck right out of the house when, “Yeah, hi? I’m at…well, gosh, I don’t know the address yet. Can you track from this call?”

Lily moved out from behind Michael with her phone to her ear, eyes back on Sierra. “Okay, good. Anyway, there is an intruder in my house. Her name is Sierra Deaton. She pushed her way inside, shoving me aggressively—I’m a minor, by the way, and now she’s threatening us.” She cocked her head and smirked at Sierra. “My name is Lily Hallings. The owner of the home is Luke Hemmings. You’re only five minutes away? Oh, great! Thank you.”

Sierra’s eyes widened and she took a step back. “Fuck you, Michael,” she hissed. “And fuck your little crack baby bitch, too. You’re gonna regret this.” She spun on her heel and swooped out the door, slamming it so hard that the glass rattled dangerously in the frame.

Lily sighed. “What is up with all the exes calling me a crack baby?” 

Michael whipped around, wide-eyed and grabbed the phone. He lifted it to his ear, “Hello? Hello?” He looked down at Lily with a frown, confused at the silence. 

She smirked. “Yeah, I didn’t actually call, but it worked anyway.”

Michael tossed the phone down on the end table and reached out to jerk Lily into his arms. She tensed up, not really sure whether she was in trouble. Michael had never made any kind of hint that he was slap-happy, but it wouldn’t be the first time she’d ended up with a bruised cheek because she’d misinterpreted the situation. 

However, all he did was crush her up against his chest and cradle her head with his hand. “You are so fucking smart,” he breathed against the top of her head. “And you are _never_ opening the door again, ever in your lifetime.”

“Hey!” she protested. 

“No!” Michael returned, his voice a bit higher pitched than normal. “She could have hurt you. I could have…just no! I’m so sorry I didn’t protect you, Lils. I swear to you, she will never come near you again. When Luke gets home, we’re going to the police and getting a restraining order against her,” he swore.

“Michael.” She tried to pull away, but he had her clasped too tightly. “Michael!” she said again, into his chest. 

“What, sweetheart?” Now his voice sounded thick and wet. She pulled her head back to look up at him. Sure enough, there were tears in his eyes. 

“What the hell are you crying for?” she asked in confusion. 

He dropped to his knees and lifted his hands up to cup her cheeks. “I almost got you hurt. I’m the shittiest parent in the world. You’ll never be able to trust me, now, and I’m so sorry for that. But I don’t blame you.”

A tear escaped the confines of his eye and slid down his face. “Jesus Christ, Michael, get ahold of yourself,” she rolled her eyes. “No one is hurt. Nothing happened.”

“She touched you!”

“Before I ever even called for you!” she grumbled at him. “Once you got here, it was pretty clear she’d have to go through your dead body to get to me. Now quit being a dumbass! I’m fine. Ellie is fine. _You_ are fine. The dogs probably need to run around outside to calm down, but everyone is okay.”

“We’re still getting a restraining order.”

Lily sighed. “You can try. In my experience, it takes a hell of a lot more threats or punching to get one, but maybe it works differently for rich people.”

“Is the bad lady gone?” Ellie’s tiny voice came from the hallway. 

“Yes! Ellie come here, baby,” Michael called. Ellie raced into the room and barreled into Michael’s side. He flung one arm around her and the other back around Lily and squeezed them together. Lily rolled her eyes to the ceiling, but gently patted him on the head. 

“We’re fine, Michael,” she said, reassuringly. “I promise I won’t ever answer the door again. Can we just let this go, now?”

He pulled away slowly, tears still wet on his face. “Yeah, I’m sorry,” he said again, getting to his feet. “I shouldn’t…I know you don’t like being touched. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Lily tossed off as she stomped off upstairs. 

“Language,” he called weakly after her. She made sure he couldn’t see the reluctant smile that came over her face.

After about an hour, she came back down to hear Ellie and Michael cracking up in the kitchen, their laughter ringing through the house. When she walked into the kitchen, Ellie continued to cackle, but Michael’s laughter died down. She had no intentions of ever emotionally revisiting how shitty she felt from watching that happen. “So, whatcha doing?” she asked instead, pulling out a chair. 

Now that she was at the table, she could clearly see the remnants of soup and sandwiches. She clamped down on the spike of hurt that went through her at her exclusion, only to have it melt into the warm fuzzy feeling that followed when Michael jumped up and hit the microwave start button, then began rifling in the fridge. He pulled out a plate with a wrapped sandwich on it, unwrapped it and set it in front of Lily. The microwave dinged and he carefully pulled a bowl of steaming soup out, setting it in front of her. 

“It’s still pretty hot,” he said, sliding a spoon into it. “Be careful.” She had barely gotten her mouth open when he squeezed his eyes shut and dropped his head. “Sorry. You’re not stupid. You know that,” he said, quietly. 

He snagged up his and Ellie’s dishes and began cleaning up. “Thanks,” Lily offered. He turned around with a pleased smile and nodded before continuing to wash the plates. 

Ellie narrowed her eyes at her sister and hopped down. “Daddy Mikey, I’m gonna go play in my room, okay?”

“Okay, Petal,” he answered with a smile. “I’m gonna finish up the computer and maybe mess around in the music room if you need me.” Ellie skipped off upstairs leaving Lily and Michael alone in the room. Lily watched him finish the dishes and then diligently wipe down every surface in the kitchen. And then the cabinets. And then he got out the broom and swept up the already clean floor. 

When she finished, she pushed her chair out and his head whipped around to her. “Are you done? Can I get you anything else?” he asked. She shook her head, moving to the sink. “Oh, I can do that. You don’t have to do them.”

Lily stopped and looked him in the eye. “Michael, I am 10. You are a grown-assed adult. Stop being afraid of me.”

He flushed and put the broom away. “I’m…I’m not afraid of you,” he answered stiltedly. Lily raised an eyebrow and he looked at the floor. 

“I am not a princess. I am a kid. I need chores. I need rules. I may throw a shitfit sometimes, but you’re not helping at all by giving in every time I say boo.”

He nodded hesitantly. “Okay,” he agreed. 

“Now, tell me to do the damn dishes.”

It took him two tries, but eventually he managed. “Lily, please do your dishes and put them in the drainer. A-and, language,” he added with a tiny smile. 

Lily snorted out a laugh and nodded before getting to work. “So, you didn’t finish the computer yet?” she asked over the running water. 

“No, Ellie was still a bit freaked out so I sat with her and we talked for a while.”

It was Lily’s turn to flush because that had been her job for the last four years. Had she really gotten so comfortable in the last week, so expectant that one of the men…that _Michael_ …would do it that she hadn’t even given a thought to her own sister? She didn’t quite know how to feel about that. 

“Oh,” was all she managed. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” he returned, just as awkwardly. 

“Do…do you need help? With the computer?”

He smiled at her. “Sure. It’ll come in handy to not be the only person in the whole family to know how to set it up.”

Lily dried her hands off and tucked the towel away. “Luke and Calum aren’t tech-y?”

Michael grinned. “They’re tech-y enough. They can operate it. They’re just not that great at setting it up. Luke always had his brothers to do it. And Calum was a jock in his formative teen years, so I did it for him. Because I had no siblings, no life and no friends other than Calum until I decided I didn’t want to kill Luke at 16.”

Lily looked confused. “What?”

Michael started walking backwards and Lily followed him into the game room. “Luke and I hated each other until 10th year.”

“Why?”

“I think popular opinion was that it was over a girl? But honestly, it was probably ‘cause I was jealous of how popular he was and how cool it was that he had his own YouTube channel with tons of subscribers,” Michael admitted. “But we got over ourselves and realized we made better friends than enemies, and thus, the beginnings of 5SOS were born!” He waved his hands around vaguely, then bowed. Lily cracked a smile. 

“And now you—”

“Don’t finish that thought, young lady,” Michael pointed at her, eyebrow raised. 

“What?”

“Nope. Can’t fool me with that innocent look. I know you were one syllable away from making a sex joke that would have had me hiding under furniture until someone came and saved me.”

She shrugged and smiled smugly. “Well, I see you are beginning to know me.” He tossed her a cord and pointed to a port. And she learned how to set a computer up.

When Luke and Calum finally made it home, they were greeted with the smell of garlic bread and tomato sauce, and the sound of Peppa Pig’s theme song being played through the amp. They grinned at each other, and went to find their family. 

Michael had one foot up on the amp and was head-banging while Ellie leaped about the room screaming random lyrics from what sounded like two or three different kids’ shows. Lily was sitting cross-legged on the floor holding her stomach as she laughed so hard tears were falling from her eyes. 

Calum called out to them several times, but in the end, Luke had to step up and turn the amp down. Michael’s wide-eyed shock sent the girls back into paroxysm of laughter. “Have a good day, did we?” Calum laughed. 

Michael scrambled frantically to get everything shut off and put away, much to the amusement of the rest of his family, who made no effort to help him at all. Finally, they made it into the kitchen and Michael demanded everyone wash their hands before serving them up. 

“Did you have a good recording session?” he asked once everyone was stuffing their face.

“Yeah, got quite a bit done,” Calum nodded before launching into their accomplishments that day, Luke piping in every so often. Eventually, he wound down and went back to chewing. 

“How about you?” Luke asked. “Anything exciting happen?” He frowned when Michael and Lily froze and immediately shot panicked looks at each other. “Guys?” Luke said again. 

Ellie swallowed and wiped her mouth. “It was fun except for when the—”

“Ellie!” Lily snapped. Ellie blinked in confusion and her eyes began to fill up. 

“Lily, don’t yell at your sister,” Michael ordered, more forceful than Luke and Calum had ever heard him be with Lily before. He reached out a hand to stroke Ellie’s golden hair. Luke and Calum looked worriedly at each other. 

“Um, what happened?” Calum asked, carefully. 

“Not a damn thing happened,” Lily snapped. 

“Lily!” Michael snapped back, shocking Luke and Calum, and causing Ellie to hang her head. “I’m not hiding this,” he looked pointedly at her, eyebrows raised. 

“I’m not asking you to hide anything. I’m asking you to shut the hell up,” Lily returned angrily. 

“This isn’t a choice, Lily,” Michael frowned. “I was hoping to wait until after dinner, but one way or another, Luke and Calum are going to hear it, and then we are going to decide what to do.”

“Wow, sure didn’t take you long to snap into asshole, did it, Clifford?” Lily glared venomously. 

“Lily—”

“No, really. It’s not like I have a say, right? Whatever. Tell them what you want. I’m not gonna sit here and listen to it.” She shoved her chair back and stormed from the room. Michael heaved a weary sigh and covered his face with a hand. 

“Can I be excused, please?” came a tiny voice. 

Luke glanced at Ellie’s nearly empty plate and nodded. “Yes, sweetheart. Let us know if you get hungry later, okay?”

“Okay,” Ellie answered, sadly. She hopped down and slowly walked out of the room. 

Calum pushed his plate away and leaned on the table. “Michael? Babe, what the fuck happened today?”

Michael gave a wet, gaspy laugh and dragged his hand down from his face. He looked back and forth between his lovers and ended on Luke. “Sierra came by today,” he said, flatly.

Luke’s eyes grew huge. “What? What the fuck…what did she want? What happened?” he asked, his voice fluttering in alarm. Calum reached out and put a hand on Luke’s back, but it didn’t calm him down much. 

“I don’t know what she wanted, just that she wanted to see you. The doorbell rang and Lily went to answer it. Apparently, according to Ellie, Sierra was a bitch to her, demanding to talk to Luke. Lily said he wasn’t here and…and Sierra shoved her back into the house and followed her in.”

Luke’s eyes seemed to spark. “She touched our fucking daughter?” 

Michael nodded, tiredly. “Lily told Ellie to run and get me. I left Ellie in the game room and hauled ass out to the door. I got between them, Luke, I swear,” he said, plaintively. 

Luke reached a hand out and grasped Michael’s. “I know baby,” he managed, even through his anger. “I know you protected our girls. That was never in doubt.”

“Sierra kept demanding to see you,” Michael continued, squeezing Luke’s hand. “She insulted the girls. She started making threats. She lunged at Lily. She poked me in the chest—”

“She touched you, too?” Luke became incensed again. 

Michael gave a humorless laugh. “Luke, she’s tiny as fuck. I wasn’t in any danger.” 

“That’s not the point, love,” Calum broke in. “What happened next?”

Michael sighed. “We have a brilliant child. Lily pretended to call the police. Sierra freaked out and took off, but not before telling us both that we would regret it.”

“Jesus Christ,” Luke slumped back in his chair. 

“It took quite some time for Ellie to calm down. And Lily just wanted to pretend it didn’t happen. I don’t know why.” Michael squeezed Luke’s hand again and stared mournfully at him. “Luke, I’m sorry as fuck, baby, but I want a restraining order against her for the girls.”

“Fuck, yes, we’re getting a restraining order against her! Why would you think otherwise?” Luke asked, incredulously. “And for you, too!”

“I don’t need—”

“Do you remember what the bedroom looked like, Michael?” Luke leaned forward again. “We can’t guarantee how low she will go to get even. And I don’t want anything to happen to any of you. The girls, you, Calum, even Ashton. She’s a manipulative, mean bitch, and I will not risk her hurting anyone. I’m so sorry that happened to you today, babe.”

Luke stood up and pulled Michael into a rib crushing hug. Calum joined in a second later and Michael felt truly safe for the first time that day.


	14. Chapter 14

Michael took a deep breath before he knocked on the bedroom door. “Go away!” came the angrily delivered order. He hesitated, but knocked again. “Go! _Away_! He knocked again. He heard a growl of irritation and stomping footsteps, then the door was flung open.

“What the fuck do you want?” Lily yelled at him. He just stood quietly, watching her. She huffed and turned back away to throw herself on her bed, leaving the door open. Michael quietly stepped inside and shut the door. He approached the bed and gingerly sat on the edge, careful to stay away from Lily’s outflung legs. 

“I just came to let you know that Luke called the police,” he said, softly. Lily gave a muffled screech into her pillow and jerked her legs up, barely missing Michael’s hip. “They’re sending an officer by later tonight. Not too late, because he’s going to want to talk to you, as well.”

“Well I don’t want to talk to him,” Lily shouted into her pillow, her words muffled, but her anger very clear. 

“I know you don’t,” Michael agreed. “But this isn’t something we can just let go. What if you weren’t the one who opened the door? What if it had been Ellie? What if the next time, it _is_ Ellie, and Sierra doesn’t start out with words, but violence?” Lily twitched against the covers. “What if she does something to the house or the yard where Ellie plays? What if she poisons one of the dogs?”

Lily jerked around; her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “She’d the kind of person who’d do that?” 

Michael shrugged. “I don’t know. Last week, I would have said no. I felt pretty stupid when Luke said he wanted the restraining order for me as well. I mean, I’m a grown man. But then he reminded me of the bedroom when Sierra left. I honestly didn’t think she’d go _that_ far. Then Luke said how lucky we were that she stopped at that room and didn’t take it out on Petunia. Now? I…I just don’t know.”

Lily sat up, arms crossed and frowning, but facing Michael. “We’re not doing this to be assholes, Lily,” Michael said, quietly. “You and your sister are the most important thing in the world to us. And even though I would give my left leg to not have you hate me, I’m willing to risk you hating me for a very long time when it concerns your safety and your sister’s safety. Like a wise person once told me, I’m a grown-assed adult,” he smiled softly. “And shitfit or not, the number one golden rule around here is: nothing is more important that your safety, even if sometimes it interferes with your happiness.” 

They sat quietly for long moments, Lily frowning at the print on her comforter, Michael tracing shapes along the comforter’s seams. “Can…I ask why you’re so angry with me for telling Luke and Calum?” Michael finally ventured, sneaking a glance up at Lily’s face. It was perfect timing. If he’d looked even a second later, he wouldn’t have seen her face crumple before smoothing out. “Please?” he whispered. 

Lily huffed. “I caused ‘a problem’,” she finally spit out. “Before…when I’ve caused ‘a problem’, it hasn’t been very long afterward that the foster family decided….I thought…Never mind,” she blinked rapidly, hating this moment with a passion. 

“You thought that this would make me send you back,” Michael interpreted. She shrugged angrily, pinching her lips together. “I wish I had something profound to say,” he shook his head. “Something that would make you suddenly believe me, trust me. But I don’t. Songwriting aside, I’m actually pretty shitty with words,” he gave a small smile. 

“I don’t know what to say beyond…not gonna happen. Since I don’t have quality, I guess I will go for quantity. I will _never_ send you away,” he said, earnestly. “I made you a promise and I will not break my word to you. You are safe here. This is your home. You are welcome here. It’s okay to be cautious. Even to be afraid. But it’s my hope that one day, you won’t be. 

“Until then… I will tell you every day if you need me to. You are wanted. You are loved. And not just by me. Calum and Luke adore you. Ashton thinks you’re amazing. Even Matt, who’s known you for less than six hours thinks you’re awesome. You will not be left behind again, Lily. Or alone. We’ve got you.”

He stood up slowly. “I’m gonna leave you be, now. Thank you for letting me interrupt you. We’ll call you down when the police arrive.” Lily gave one single jerky nod. Holding his breath, Michael leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on the crown of her head, running his hand over it as he pulled away. He left without another word, softly pulling her door closed behind him. 

She fell over on her side, the tears she’d been holding back all evening—all day, really—finally coming. Despite her best attempt at standing strong, he was slowly filling her heart with hope; and that both exhilarated her…and terrified her. 

***********

When the police arrived, Calum was the one to head upstairs to get Lily. Michael was busy right away giving his statement to the officer. Calum was expecting the angry, belligerent girl from the dinner table. What he got was a solemn, puffy-eyed girl who looked resigned to her fate.

“It’s gonna be okay, Lils,” Calum comforted her, kneeling down in front of her as she swung her legs off of the bed. “No one is angry. No one is getting punished. Just tell your story to the police and let us take care of you.”

Lily looked up at him, her reddened eyes making his heart hurt. “He’s going to get tired of me causing trouble,” she said, emotionlessly. “Please try to convince him to keep Ellie when that happens.”

Calum felt his eyes stinging, and he bit the inside of his cheek. “Lily, I—”

She stood abruptly, making him scoot back a bit, and headed to the door. “Let’s get this over with,” she said, as she disappeared through the entry way.

Downstairs, they found everyone else packed onto the couches, listening intently to Michael finish his statement. The officer sat in an armchair, scribbling on a pad and nodding every so often, while Luke and Ellie sat on the big couch. Michael sat alone on the love seat wringing his hands and looking very uncomfortable. Calum took the seat beside Ellie, leaving Lily to sit with Michael. The officer looked up briefly to nod an acknowledgement to her, then went back to scratching on his notepad.

Eventually, he turned his attention to Lily. “Am I to understand you are the young lady who opened the door?” he asked. Lily nodded. “I am Officer O’Neil,” he smiled slightly.

“Lily,” she offered quietly. “Lily Hallings”

“All right, Lily,” he nodded at her. “Go ahead and tell me in your words what happened here, today.”

Lily didn’t exaggerate, didn’t embellish. She just straight up told her side of the story with a blank mask on her face. She could tell it was sort of weirding the officer out, but decided she didn’t really care. When she finished her story, she fell silent and let the officer catch up.

He wrote one last thing down, then narrowed his eyes at her. “So, did you feel threatened at all, Lily?” he asked.

“I mean…not really? Lily shrugged. “She’s pretty small. I don’t think she could have done much damage to me. I’ve been hit by way bigger people and been just fine. I was more worried about Ellie. That’s why I sent her out of the room to get Michael.”

The officer was frowning, now. “You’ve…been hit by bigger people,” he repeated. 

Lily nodded. “She looked like a slapper, anyway. Slaps are nothing.”

The officer looked next to her at Michael, who had his face covered by hands that were turning white at the tips. He looked over at Luke and Calum, who were staring, open-mouthed, in horror. And then at Ellie, who was just nodding along like Lily was sharing true-facts.

“Lily, maybe we could talk alone,” O’Neil stated, lowering his pad and shifting his hip to have better access to his belt. 

Lily frowned. “Why?”

O’Neil cut his eyes toward Michael. “I just thought maybe you’d like to have a bit of privacy for our conversation.”

Now, Lily’s eyes narrowed. “What are you trying to imply, exactly?” she asked, coldly.

“You’re newly adopted, as Mr. Clifford states,” he offered. “Sometimes, these things don’t always work out perfectly. There are…stumbling blocks, times when tempers might get too hot. If any of that might have occurred, I need to know.”

Lily looked from Calum and Luke, who were glaring at the officer, to Michael, who had sat up stiffly, face devoid of emotion. He was staring at the carpet in front of him, but his face had paled. She turned back to the officer.

“Are you seriously trying to get me to ‘admit’,” she used finger quotes, “to being beaten, here?”

The officer’s face slightly flushed. “I’m not trying to make you ‘admit’ anything, Miss. I was offering you a safe space to share pertinent information if you needed to.

“Well, I don’t need a safe space,” she glared. “Michael doesn’t hit me. Michael would _never_ hit me.” Now that she’d listened to him lay down the law about her safety, and had some time to think about it, she actually felt a bit embarrassed of how she’d tensed up when he pulled her in for a panicked hug after Sierra left. 

“This is a new relationship, Miss Hallings,” the officer pointed out. “Neither one of you knows the other, and sometimes things don’t go—”

“Perfectly. Yes, I heard you,” Lily interrupted. “And in my personal experience, you’re right, nothing ever goes perfectly. But there’s a big difference between having a ‘rough honeymoon’, as the caseworkers say, and suggesting my adoptive parent beats me.” She leaned forward, mostly so she didn’t have to see Michael in her peripheral, and continued.

“Michael Clifford is a gigantic marshmallow who was sobbing his heart out over letting me answer the door in the first place. He has never laid a _hand_ on me that wasn’t in kindness or concern. We may not be the stereotypical ‘proud new father and loving new daughter’, but I have no fear at all that anything I say or do might be met with violence from him.”

“You are remarkably well spoken for a 10-year-old,” O’Neil pointed out, a bit of suspicion in his voice.

Lily looked at him incredulously. “Now you’re suggesting that I’ve been coached?”

“And you seem to have a lot of ‘buzz words’ that you’re dropping,” he continued, the suspicion not abating. 

“Oh, for f—” she cut herself of with a flare of her nostrils. “Officer O’Neil,” she continued with a forced smile. “I have been in the foster system for the last four years. I have been in more homes than is probably healthy for a _10-year-old girl_. I have had almost 20 caseworkers. You tend to pick up the lingo.” She linked her fingers in her lap to keep from flipping him off. 

“As for my speech,” she continued, “I have a disgustingly high IQ and I am extremely well-read. None of that makes me a liar. None of that indicates that I have been coached. None of that is even pertinent to the reason that you were called here in the first place.”

She took a deep breath. “I am sorry if I have given you any indication that this visit was for anything other than Sierra Deaton shoving her way into this house and threatening me and my family. Please forgive my reluctance to speak to you privately and any hostility that I may have offered your suggestions as the responses of a jaded child who has been in the system far too long.”

The officer looked mollified, but still unhappy. “If everything is fine, then you wouldn’t have any issue with Child Protective Services contacting you,” he said, pointedly.

Lily gritted her teeth to keep from growling. “I would not,” she agreed.

“And you, Mr. Clifford?” he asked Michael.

Michael started at being addressed and looked a bit wild-eyed, but he shook his head. “No, if you need someone to make sure the girls are being taken care of and not hurt, I have no problem with that,” he said, softly. “If you let me know when they’re coming, I can make sure we’re home.”

The officer started to open his mouth, but Lily butted in. “They can’t tell you, Michael,” she said, finally leaning back. “It has to be a drop-in time when you’re not expecting it so nothing is staged.”

O’Neil finally looked a bit convinced. “I see you _do_ know how this all works,” he said, placidly. 

She grimaced out another smile. “Not my first inspection visit, Officer O’Neil.”

He nodded and flipped his notepad shut. “Well, back to the original issue,” he segued. “Long term restraining orders are the purview of the county courthouse. I can issue a temporary one, but you will have to set a court date to speak to a judge about one that lasts longer than 14 days. Are you able to get to the courthouse in that time frame?”

Luke brandished his phone, which he was already texting on. “I’m contacting our lawyer right now. He can get the ball rolling on a court date and whatever paperwork needs filling out.”

The officer nodded. “Sounds like a plan.” He stood and tucked his notepad away. “Well, if there is nothing further you’d like to add…” he smiled down at Lily, holding a restraining hand out. “That’s not an accusation, that’s the standard exit line,” he said, almost teasingly.

Lily gave a thin-lipped smile and nodded. “Excellent,” he announced. “I will take my leave, then. I hope you folks have a less exciting evening. I will see myself out.”

When the door shut behind him, everyone sat in silence for long minutes. Finally, Michael cleared his throat. “Thank you, Lily, for talking to him,” he offered. “I know you didn’t want to.” 

Lily snorted incredulously. “I almost got you arrested, and you’re thanking me?”

Michael gave a small smile. “Maybe, but you defended me, too. That counts.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, now you have to put up with a caseworker visit. Does that count, too?”

He lifted a shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. “It’s fine with me. I don’t think we’re doing so badly. And it’s one more layer of protection for you. So, I don’t mind.”

She just stared at him, confused. “It’s a huge inconvenience. They’ll ask rude questions and poke around in every corner. And they don’t just go away. They’re like roaches.”

Michael’s smile widened. “I don’t think they’re _that_ awful. And it’s not an inconvenience if it’s for your safety. I’ll answer whatever they ask honestly, and I hope that you do, too.” 

“What if I say something you don’t like?” she pushed, baffled by anyone who would _want_ to talk to a caseworker.

“Lily, I want you to be happy,” Michael said, a bit sadly. “If that’s not with me, I understand. If you hate it here, then…I would hope you’d tell me first, so I can try to change whatever you hate. But if you feel you can’t, then I want you to tell somebody who can help you. Someone who can put you somewhere you feel safe and happy.”

Lily just stared, squinting in puzzlement. Then she shoved herself to her feet. “Whatever,” she tossed back over her shoulder as she headed for the stairs again.

Michael sighed and hung his head. “I can’t get it right with her,” he whispered, mostly to himself. He felt a weight sink down next to him on the couch and leaned into Luke’s shoulder. 

“You’re doing fine, Michael,” he reassured him. “She doesn’t trust easily, and that’s to be expected. I can’t believe she’s had to go through so much in her life.” He shook his head. “To be so…accepting of being hit? It’s horrifying and saddening and my heart breaks for her. But you heard her. As much as she kicks up a fuss about it, she _does_ trust you. She knows you would never hurt her physically. And one day, she’ll realize that you won’t do it emotionally either.”

“It’s gotten better, Mike,” Calum offered up. “Just in the last couple of days. She’s figuring it out slowly. We just have to be patient.”

Ellie climbed down off of the couch and hopped over to Michael’s spot on the love seat. She reached up and patted his cheek, returning the smile it put on his face. “Lily likes you,” she said, firmly. “She just doesn’t want you to know she likes you.”

Michael nodded, even though he wasn’t sure about that. “Yeah?” he said.

She nodded. “She yelled at the policeman ‘cause he was mean to you. She only does that for me.”

His smile got a bit more real. “Well, thank you for telling me that, Petal,” he said, softly. “You ready for bed?” She nodded vigorously and Michael stood up, swinging her up on his hip as he did. “Let’s get you tucked in, then, shall we?”

“Hey, Mikey,” Calum called out hesitantly as they reached the stairs. Michael turned to look curiously at him. “Can Luke have the lawyer look into getting Crystal out of your house, too?”

Michael’s smile fell from his face, briefly, then he looked at Ellie and it sparked back up. “Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good.” He nodded and continued up the stairs with his precious cargo.


	15. Chapter 15

Everything was two weeks. Two weeks for the temporary restraining order. Two weeks until they could get a court date for a permanent one. Two weeks, well…15 days, actually, that Crystal had to move out after she was served with Termination of Residence papers. 

The only things that didn’t seem to take two weeks was the speed of the rumor mill on Twitter and the time it took TMZ to start their shit. They began by announcing to all and sundry that Michael had slapped a restraining order on Sierra because he didn’t want her near Luke. 

Michael thought that was kind of ridiculous. Clearly, they underestimated the sheer amount of testimony and verifiable proof needed regarding whether or not the girls and Michael were in potential danger. And that was what the lawyer required to even start the paperwork to ask for a court date. A jealous lover wanting to back the ex the fuck off had little to no chance in hell of ever making it to see a judge.

It didn’t stop the hate tweets from clogging up his feed. He was selfish, already dating Calum and wanting Luke, too. He ruined Luke and Sierra’s happy relationship because he was jealous. He hated Sierra because she was a POC. He was a gold-digger. He didn’t quite get that one, because they earned the same fucking amount, but whatever, as Lily would say.

Right on the heels of that came the TMZ piece on how Michael was throwing Crystal out on the street after having stolen half her shit and her little dog, too. Calum and Luke had to take Michael’s phone away from him an hour after that segment aired. 

The damage had been done, however. Michael saw enough about how he was a cruel, heartless user and thief to send him into a black spiral that culminated with him literally locking himself in the music room and playing _Jet Black Heart_ on repeat.

They called Ashton in. 

Ash had always been able to get through to Michael, even when Michael’s two loves couldn’t. Calum had a theory that Michael thought Luke and Calum loved him too much to be honest with him. Not that he thought Ashton hated him. It was just that Ashton was more willing to be 100% truthful, even when the truth hurt.

It didn’t matter, because Michael refused to open the door to Ashton either. They were all three sat in the kitchen, frustrated, brainstorming what they could do to fix this, when the music stopped. Just cut off completely. They exchanged worried looks and were half pushed out of their chairs when Ellie came skipping into the kitchen. 

“All better!” she chirped. “Can I have some juice?” Luke got up to get her a glass, still eyeing her in puzzlement. 

“What’s all better, princess?” Calum asked, pushing out the chair next to him for her to sit in. 

“Daddy Michael,” she smiled. “Lily got mad and picked the lock. She’s fixing him.”

The adults made eye contact again and Ashton shrugged. “Well, it’s the only thing we haven’t tried, yet,” he said. And so, they waited, watching Ellie drink her juice and chatter on about some cartoon she’d watched that morning. 

Five minutes later had the music room door opening and a subdued Michael following a determined Lily out into the living room. “Ellie!” Lily called. “We’re planting your flowers. Let’s go.”

Ellie squealed in excitement and practically fell out of her chair. She bounded over and took Michael’s hand in hers and proceeded to drag him outside. Lily looked over at the amazed men left in the kitchen, and flushed.

“Don’t two of you have to be in the studio in about an hour?” she deflected, raising her chin. 

Ashton nodded, a smirk appearing on his face. “Cal and I do, yes.”

“Fine. So, go get ready or something,” she huffed. “Luke, I’m not suffering mud and hay fever alone. Get out here and help,” she ordered, before spinning around and flouncing out the back door.

Ashton shrugged and waved a dismissing hand to Luke. “You’ve been summoned,” he grinned. 

“…how?” Luke sputtered.

Ash shrugged again. “I told you. They are one confused, hurt and desperate-to be-loved soul split into two angry and depressed bodies.” He stood and pulled his keys out of his pocket.

“He loves you two beyond reason,” Ash proffered. “Don’t ever doubt that. But I really think he and Lily are meant to be. There’s never been two people who have deserved, or needed each other more.”

They all paused for a moment, really letting that sink in, and when none of them could argue differently, just shrugged and moved on.

“You coming, Cal?” Ash asked, heading to the front door. Calum nodded, and leaned over to kiss Luke goodbye before trotting to meet up with Ashton. Luke stood alone in the kitchen, pondering what his life had become in the last two weeks. Then he smiled and turned to the back door. 

He didn’t have to think very long. It had become amazing.

***********

Later that week, Matt called bright and early to whine that he hadn’t seen Lily in ages, and ordered all the boys into the studio so he could meet Ellie and re-unite with his partner-in-crime. While Ellie was very excited to meet Matt as well, she wasn’t into the production process like Lily was. She just wanted to shriek into the microphones and play with the instruments. 

Ashton snatched her up after the harrowing experience of listening to her smash the piano keys, and sat down at his drums with her. Within minutes, he had her tapping out a basic beat and everyone watched in both relief and interest as she fell into the weird focused zone they were all so familiar with as musicians, themselves.

With Ellie so intent on learning with Ashton, and Matt and Lily huddled up again over production, Luke, Calum and Michael took the opportunity to just sit in a sound room and jam. By the end of the day, not a damn thing had been accomplished by anybody, but every one of them felt satisfied, anyway. 

Since they were having such a great time with each other, they decided to hit a nearby restaurant for dinner. They got in under the radar, but by the time they’d finished their food and were ready to leave, the manager came to their table.

“I’m so sorry to interrupt, sirs,” A middle-aged man in a black button down, with black slacks and a skinny black tie, leaned over between Ashton and Matt. 

“It’s okay,” Ashton looked up at him. “Is there a problem with the card?” he questioned with a slight frown.

“Oh, no! Of course not, sir,” the man looked dismayed that Ashton might have even suggested such a thing. “Your card worked fine, and let me thank you for your generous gratuity.” He flushed a bit. “I have a strict policy here at our establishment that staff are not to acknowledge a person’s celebrity status. In my experience, most famous people prefer to enjoy their dinner without gushing waitstaff and starry-eyed bussers up in their business.”

“I’m sure celebrities appreciate that,” Ashton gave him a grin.

“Yes, well,” he smiled back, awkwardly. “I’m afraid I have to break that policy today. You and your band are the only celebrities in the building at the moment, so I’m going to guess that the dozen reporters and 50 fans crowding the front doors are for you.”

Ashton’s smile dropped. “I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to cause a problem.”

“No! No, no, no,” the man waved his hands frantically. “That…that’s not where I was going with this, I promise you. I plan on calling the police to have them dispersed. But you look like you’re nearly done, and I’m guessing it will take a while for the police to shoo them away.”

He gave an entreating smile. “You are certainly welcome to stay, perhaps enjoy a dessert until they’re gone. We’d be happy to comp it for your party for the inconvenience. Or, if you’d rather, we do have a rear exit from the restaurant that you are welcome to use if you’d like to have someone pull your cars around.”

“Oh,” Ashton blinked in surprise. “That’s…very kind of you.” He looked at the others with raised eyebrows. “Gentlemen?”

Calum glanced over at Ellie, nearly asleep in her plate of fish fingers and chips, and smiled, fondly. “I think it’s well past someone’s bedtime,” he said. “While we greatly appreciate the offer of dessert, I think we should probably head home.”

The man gave a short nod and stepped back. “Very good, sirs,” he smiled. “Thank you for your patronage today, and you have a wonderful evening.” He looked behind him and gave a wave to a young man hovering on the outskirts. “When you are ready to leave, call over Nicholas and he will show you to the rear entrance.”

A short while later found Matt and Andy heading out the front door--Matt to Ashton’s car and Andy to Luke’s—while the bandmates and girls huddled around the rear entrance. Nicholas poked his head out the door then jerked back in with wide eyes. 

“They’re here with the cars, but you’re gonna want to run,” he advised. At the frowns that met his statement, he clarified, “Looks like someone recognized one of your drivers. There are people chasing them around the corner of the building.”

“Shit,” Calum sighed. “Okay. Luke we’re gonna need your jacket,” he said, swinging a sleepy Ellie up in his arms. Luke nodded and shrugged it off to throw over Ellie’s head. He peeked under it at her and gave her a comforting smile. “We’re gonna play peek-a-boo with these guys, Ells. Okay? You stay under there until Calum says you can come out, yeah?” Ellie nodded and he let the coat drop over her face. With that, Luke and Calum took off out the door, running side by side to where Andy had parked and thrown open the door.

Michael looked at Lily and she narrowed her eyes and took a step back. “Not a chance in the world, Clifford, that you’re carrying me,” she said, darkly. 

He sighed and shrugged off his jacket. “Yeah, I didn’t think so,” he admitted. “But you’re gonna put this over your head, and Ash and I will lead you to the car.” She opened her mouth to protest and he held up a finger. “Safety issue, Sunshine.”

She glared. “Fine. But don’t get used to it.”

Michael sighed and dropped his jacket over her head. Ashton gave him a smirky grin and they each took an arm to lead her out the door. The screaming hit them like a physical thing when they got into the alley. Michael could feel Lily hesitate and flinch away from it. Her feet got tangled up together and, whether she liked it or not, he lifted her up as she started to go down and kept ahold of her until they got to the car.

Matt shut the door behind them and then took off after Andy away from the screaming crowd and the flashing of cameras. Lily threw the jacket off of her head and glared at Michael.

“I said not to pick me up!” she screeched. 

Michael tried to reply, “Lily, you were falling—” but she cut him off by throwing the jacket in his face and turning away with her arms crossed. He slowly followed suit, turning to look out the window on the other side, if for nothing else than to keep the misery on his face from being noticed.

In the front seat, Matt looked back through the rearview mirror at a crying Lily and Ashton looked over his shoulder at a crying Michael mirroring her three feet away. 

It might as well have been three miles. 

The two men in the front seat turned to look at each other, the pain of not being able to help their friend or his little girl visible on their faces as well. Not a sound was spoken the rest of the way home.

***********

Once home, Lily slammed her way out of the car without saying goodbye to Matt or Ashton. She slammed the front door, racing past Luke, Calum and Ellie without a word. Then came the slam of her bedroom door and the scrape of what sounded like a chair being pulled across the floor. Luke and Calum were pretty sure that, if they went up to check, they’d find that she’d lodged it under the door handle.

Michael quietly thanked Matt and Ashton for dinner and for the save, gave a wan smile to Andy as they traded placed in the car, and then quietly made his way through the front door. Luke and Calum took one look at him and Luke picked Ellie up.

“Hey, Princess! Can I tuck you in tonight?” he spun her around.

Ellie gave a giggle, then looked over at Michael, and her expression turned sad. “Yes, please,” she returned, then wiggled to be let down. She ran over and gave Calum a goodnight kiss and hug. Then, she held her arms up to Michael. He lifted her up, painting a smile on his face.

“Goodnight, Petal,” he said, softly, kissing her cheek and giving her a squeeze.

Ellie cupped her little hands around his cheeks and looked deeply into his eyes. “Are you sure there’s not a number?” she asked, seriously. 

Michael wasn’t able to stop the tears’ return. He still smiled gently at Ellie through the blur in his eyes. “No, baby girl. There will never be a number. I promise you. And I promise Lily. You’re my girls, forever.”

He carefully set her down and she trudged over to Luke, who picked her up immediately. They headed upstairs, Ellie looking over her shoulder the whole way until they disappeared at the top. When they did, Michael let the first sob burst out of his chest.

He was in Calum’s arms in less than a second and he let himself droop into Cal’s strong chest while Cal murmured soothing words into his ears. When Luke came back down, he added his arms to the mix. Eventually, they managed to get Michael back into the bedroom, undressed and wrapped back up in their arms under the covers where he cried himself to sleep for the first time in years.

The next morning, the first thing Michael did was snatch up his phone. Luke and Calum exchanged worried looks, but after angrily typing for a bit, Michael tossed his phone back onto the side table and snuggled back down in bed.

***********

_I get it. Everyone wants to see the girls. They want to see if Luke, Calum and I are acting differently together. But it’s not okay, people. The girls were terrified. This is my family. We’re still working out the twists and turns in all the relationships, both romantically and parentally. There has never been a more important time in our whole lives than right now. We get that we are in the public eye, but we are also just people. When we’re ready to share, we absolutely will. Until then, please stop scaring our daughters._


	16. Chapter 16

The weeks began to run into each other after that. The only place the girls felt safe going to was to the studio and back. Shopping trips were a no go. Michael started ordering groceries and other necessities online, going by himself to pick things up when they couldn’t be delivered.

Lily ultimately brought her exchanges with Michael back to middle ground, but the rest of them sadly watched Michael walk on eggshells, waiting for Lily to erupt like a volcano. Ellie and Lily got into several hushed arguments around the house and at one point, for about a week, Ellie refused to speak to Lily at all. That led to _both_ Michael and Lily tiptoeing around. 

It was pretty tense, and then they were presented with the mean girls’ club. Crystal had thrown a huge Twitter tantrum over the eviction notice, leading to Sierra throwing her two cents in online, since she wasn’t legally allowed to do so in person. 

That garnered the attention of someone they all thought they’d put behind them. Arzaylea started sympathy tweeting Sierra and Crystal. She jumped on the one or two tweets that hyped up Sierra’s being a POC having something to do with the breakup. 

Ashton’s girlfriend, KayKay, actually quashed that thread by tweeting back, “ _Wow. So, we’re just gonna ignore that Calum is actually a POC, himself? And the last time you went off on this shit, @arzaylea, weren’t you ranting that they were homophobic, too? Whoops! Might wanna wash that egg off of your face, sweetie. #malukumforever #getalifefakebetches_

KayKay was treated to three dozen roses, a box of Swiss chocolates and a spa day for that.

As all Twitter wars do, though, it eventually died down and the band got to focus more on putting the final touches on their album than running around putting out social media fires. They started working with Andy on the photos for it, and with the promo team for the upcoming weeks before Christmas. They’d already booked themselves busy for the last three weeks of December in order to head back to Australia for their families to meet the girls.

A lot of the promo could be done in LA, or over Facetime and Zoom meets, but some had to be done in person elsewhere. A promo trip was scheduled to New York that included at least four on-air interviews with some prominent DJs, and a short, intimate performance in front of a select group of fans.

Andy agreed to house sit for the week they’d be gone, but Matt demanded to go with them. He didn’t trust any nanny service to watch over ‘his girls’ while the band worked. He promised to take them sight-seeing during the interviews but Ellie begged and begged to attend the mini-concert, and the boys finally gave in.

As they walked into the first interview, they knew, even though they were there to promote their new album, that their personal lives were going to get thrown out over the air waves. Their publicist had made a point with each on air interview team to lay down the list of topics that were off limits, but everyone knew that was just paying lip service to the contract. 

Radio personalities were all about ratings, and the boys were expecting to be slammed by intrusive questions. So, when Elvis Duran shook each of their hands, welcomed them and sat them down at their microphones, all four men were only going through the motions, a fake smile on their faces and knees jiggling under the table. 

Elvis paused before adjusting his own mic. “Boys, today my questions are going to be focused on your album,” he began, shooting a quelling look at the team he had surrounding them. “I would consider myself a shitty journalist if I didn’t comment on your new relationship or your new kids, but I will only touch on it and then move on. If you, at any point, want to talk further about either one, that will be up to you.”

All the boys had hesitantly hopeful expressions. “We have vetted the questions today from viewers, and discarded the ones that touch on those topics. I am not so far gone from my own coming out that I would screw you over on-air. This is a safe place, gentlemen,” Elvis promised.

“Shit, man,” Calum smiled broadly. “You’re gonna make us cry. Thank you!”

Elvis smiled and pulled his microphone closer, sinking into his radio personality persona. “All right! Welcome back, everyone. We have some special guests this morning. We have in our studio 5 Seconds of Summer! Welcome Calum, Luke, Ashton, Michael. We are privileged to have you today.”

“Thanks, Elvis,” Ashton beamed. “We’re grateful to be here.”

“So, you have a new album slated to come out…when? Later this year? Beginning of next year?” he started off.

“Well, I think we’re looking at early next year, actually,” Ashton said. “Life has been pretty crazy for our little band lately. We’re still making it to the recording studio and we’re still promoting, but it’s taken a bit of a back seat to some personal life stuff.” Ashton decided to just throw it out there and see if Elvis were going to be true to his word.

“Of course, of course,” Elvis agreed. “I want to be the first person on-air to congratulate you boys, sans Ashton, of course.”

Ashton gave an almost manic giggle, pleased that right out of the gate, they were met with acceptance, rather than questioning. The boys looked over at him curiously. 

“You sound a bit insane, Ash,” Michael pointed out with a laugh of his own. 

“I’m just really happy for my boys,” Ashton announced.

“So, this could have been hard on you, Ashton,” Elvis pointed out. “How are you handling being the single guy?”

Ashton shook his head. “I’m not single,” he laughed. “I’m just not a part of the Malukum lovefest.”

“You’re a lovefest supporter, then?” Elvis chuckled. 

“Oh, I’m loving them being together,” Ashton reached out to squeeze the back of Calum’s neck. “They get to go be all romantic and my girlfriend and I get to babysit my best girls. Win-win, I say.” 

Elvis nodded in approval. “You get to go on many dates, boys?”

Luke flushed, but sat up straight and leaned in, realizing Ashton shouldn’t carry the whole interview. “Not so much, actually,” he said. “We’re still a bit too new to go out on the town. We’d never make it anywhere for the paps. But we have other times we spend together. We’ll watch a movie together, or make dinner together.”

Elvis laughed. “You sound like an old married…well, I guess thruple?”

Calum chuckled. “That works. And, yeah. We pretty much are. We’ve been in each other’s back pockets since we were 16, 15 for Luke. That’s eight years of banding. You get really comfortable with each other after that long.” He shrugged. “The moments that mean the most aren’t made out on the town or on the front cover of some magazine. They’re made curled up on the couch, bitching ‘cause Michael won’t stop dusting off his fingers over the chips while we watch Anchor Man for the 50th time, so Luke can repeat all the lines.”

Elvis beamed at them. “I love hearing that, gentlemen. I’m very happy for all of you. Now, Ashton, you said you get to baby sit for the boys? How’s that working out for you? Any plans on stealing them for your own?”

Ashton cackled again. “I wouldn’t mind for a week or two. But I can tell you those girls certainly have every last one of us wrapped around their little pinkies, even Uncle Ashy. Those girls are amazing. They’re beautiful. They’re brilliant. They’re cheeky. They’re the best thing that’s happened to this band.”

“Really? Even in the middle of making your album?” Elvis asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Ashton nodded. “They’ve brought us closer as a band. It feels like new life was breathed into the process. Lily joins us in the studio quite a bit. She’s so curious, so into learning whatever she can. It’s made us look at what we do in a new light. From a new perspective.” He grinned. “It also helps that Matt, who produced several of our songs, is totally in love with her.”

“Is he now?” Elvis laughed. 

“Oh, yeah. They exchanged numbers the first day they met. I’m thinking he’s gonna try to steal her away into production.”

“You think that’s the way she’s heading? Elvis raised his eyebrows. “One day, she’ll produce one of your records?”

“Naw,” Calum grinned. “Michael’s got dibs on her following in his footsteps as a lead guitarist.”

“Hey!” Michael spoke up for the first time. “You say that like Ashton isn’t secretly trying to convert Ellie into the next Dave Grohl,” he grinned.

“Hey now! That girl’s got talent!” Ashton argued. Elvis laughed out loud. 

Slowly, they pulled the conversation back around to the album, and by the time the hour was over, everyone had relaxed and they were able to dig deep into the meat of the record. The remaining questions were totally focused on the music, as Elvis had promised, and Ashton made a point to shake his hand and thank him quietly for making their first interview so easy. 

That was to be the outlier, though. The next two radio hosts were clearly not interested in the music at all. The first actually led with, “Forget about the album. What the listeners want to hear is the goods on your threesome. Rumor has it that you have a restraining order against Sierra, Michael. And that you had the cops drag Crystal out of your house.”

Michael just froze. Ashton stepped in with, “Yes, Sierra has a restraining order on her. That much is public knowledge. It’s for the safety of Michael’s girls.”

The host smirked. “So why is he on it, then? I mean, look at him. You’d think he’d be able to hold his own with a 5-foot-tall woman.”

Ashton gave him his professional smile, which was one step away from snarling. “He’s on it so he doesn’t have to ‘hold his own’. We are not interested in any kind of physical altercation with anyone, gender and size not-withstanding.”

“So, what about Crystal?” the host pushed. “Booted out of her own house.”

“Crystal was living in Michael’s house without paying rent. He was well within his rights to ask her to leave,” Ashton replied, coldly.

“Yeah, but the cops got involved, didn’t they?” the man pointed out.

“Well, that often happens when people refuse to leave the premises.”

“Yeah, but what about—”

“Do you think it possible that we could discuss our album?” Ashton cut him off, the cold gone to ice now. “I mean, that _is_ the reason we’re here; the reason your people booked us. I was under the impression that this was a credible radio station that did music interviews, not the next on-air Jerry Springer show.”

That host caved and reluctantly began asking exceedingly lame, generic questions, then cut them off 15 minutes before they were scheduled to end the segment. Luke and Calum added only one-word answers and Michael never spoke at all. Ashton ushered his boys out without a thank you or a goodbye to any of the staff.

The next radio station interview started off well enough, lulling them into a sense of security, but at the 5-minute mark, the host asked Michael, “So, it’s going around that you flew back to Australia to pick up your kids? I heard you had to sue for custody cause their moms were coke addicts. I mean, no one even knew you had kids. Are they both yours? From the same mother?”

Michael’s jaw dropped. He jerked the headphones off and tossed them down on the table. “I’m sorry, Ash,” he whispered as he pushed away from the table. “I just…can’t.” He left the room, wending his way through the dozen people hanging outside the door. 

Calum narrowed his eyes and yanked his headphones off. “Fuck you, man,” he said into the mic before standing up. “I’ll get him,” he murmured to Ash as he walked past. Ashton nodded, his eyes angrily on the host. Luke sat frozen at his side. 

“What?” the host asked, holding his hands out, a tiny smirk on his lips. “It’s what the people wanna know, man.”

“Do you have any more questions about the album, or did you only prepare five minutes worth of actual material pertaining to our band, and then spend the rest of your day trolling the internet for shock-jock bullshit?” Ashton asked, ready to clock the man with his own mic. 

“We’re just here trying to get you to clear up any rumors,” the man offered, his smirk getting bigger. 

“All right, then.” Ashton pulled his headphones off. “Thank you for wasting our time.” Luke scrambled to untangle his and follow after his band mate. 

“Hey, Luke, you want to clear anything up about dumping Sierra for two men?” Luke nearly plowed Ashton over on the way out the door. 

They came across a tiny red-haired woman just before they made it out the front doors. She stepped in front of them and held her hands out to stop them. “They’re in here,” she leaned forward and nearly whispered. “Come with me.”

She grabbed Luke’s sleeve and tugged him down a short hallway to the men’s restroom. Luke shot Ashton a wide-eyed look that Ashton returned with a shrug. “I sent them in there,” she continued. “He’s not ready for the vultures on the street to see him yet,” she added, angrily, as she pushed first Luke then Ashton into the doorway. “Go on,” she nodded. “I’ll make sure no one comes in.”

Still blinking in confusion, the two men entered to see Calum in the middle of the room with his arms wrapped around Michael. Michael’s shoulders were shaking with silent sobs and Luke took two quick steps before sandwiching Michael in between himself and Calum. Ashton moved up as well, wrapping his arms around all three. 

Long minutes later, Michael finally lifted his head and pulled away slightly. He sniffed and wiped his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Ash, I’m sorry I ruined everything.”

Ashton frowned, reaching out to chuck under Michael’s chin. “You didn’t ruin anything. Stop it.”

“We can’t even talk about our album,” Michael protested. 

“That isn’t your fault, Mike,” Calum insisted. “And we managed just fine this morning.”

“Elvis is gay,” Michael pointed out. “Of course, he—”

“No. Elvis is not ‘gay’,” Ashton interrupted, then hesitated. “Well, I mean he is, but that interview was not because he was gay. It was him being a good journalist and a good host. It was made clear today that we have no problem answering questions about our personal lives when they’re asked politely and respectfully. It is not your fault that not all radio personalities are at the level that Elvis is.”

“This all started because I made the decision to get the girls. That makes it my fault.”

“That makes you a good person,” Calum sighed. “Mikey, you did the right thing adopting those girls. You know it. We all know it.”

“I do. I do know it,” Michael sniffed. “But it’s causing the band—”

“To step up and be better people,” Luke interrupted. “That’s what it’s causing the band to do. And as for us being together, Cal and I had that decided before you ever even agreed. Loving each other isn’t wrong, Mikey,” Luke reached a hand out and cupped Michael’s cheek. “It’s beautiful and should be welcomed and appreciated. We don’t deserve any less because we’re in the public eye.”

“Hard truths here, Michael,” Ashton said, firmly. “You aren’t going to break up with the boys. You aren’t going to get rid of those beautiful girls. As a band, as _brothers_ , we’ve bled and cried and scraped and suffered eight years to get where we are now. Our music is awesome. _We_ are awesome. If we come across anyone who disagrees, fuck ‘em.”

“You want to bet that by the end of the day, both these radio stations will be being boycotted by our fans?” Luke added. “And they’ll have to hire people to handle all the Twitter hate they get?”

Calum grinned. “We have some feral fans, babe,” Calum agreed. 

“Okay. So that’s that,” Ashton announced, waving his hands with flourish. “Now, get yourself cleaned up, Mikey and we will move on to lunch with our ladies before we head over to the Amp interview and our performance. I am going to step outside and learn the name of that little red-headed pistol that’s guarding the door like a Pitbull.”

He stepped out, giving the trio time to get smoochy before they got Michael cleaned up. The woman was still standing there, arms crossed, glaring down the hall at a handful of people holding out their phones. 

“Hello,” Ashton said to her. She turned and her frown melted away to worry. “Is he okay?” she asked, quietly. 

Ashton nodded. “He will be. Thank you for your support.”

She shook her head. “I love all of you guys, I really do. But I have a spot in my heart that’s very special for Michael. His honesty helped me get through a really tough time in my life.”

Ashton smiled. “I’ll let him know that. He’ll be honored.”

“I want to apologize for that bullshit interview,” she pressed.

Ashton shrugged. “We expected it.”

“Well, you shouldn’t!” She puffed up again. “Your music is fucking amazing! You’re here to talk about that! Not whose dick goes where, and there is no reason at _all_ to start talking shit about children! God, I’m so fucking _sick_ of these asshats at this station!” she growled.

Ashton grinned. “How long have you been working here?”

She sighed. “I’m only an intern. Not even six months under my belt. And after they find out about this, I’ll probably be looking for another job.” She looked up, like she was startled that those words had come out of her mouth. “Not that I wouldn’t do it again! It’s total bullshit.”

“I agree,” Ash smiled. “What’s your name? 

“Mira,” she replied, her face flushing. “Mira McDougall."

" Well, Mira McDougall, I would very much like to offer you my number in case you go job shopping and need to name drop. Put me down as a character reference and give them my number. I guarantee I will offer you a shining recommendation.”

Mira stared wide eyed as he held out his hand for her phone. She gave it over with a shaking hand and he plugged his number in, sending a quick text to himself. “Thank you,” she whispered when he handed it back to her. 

He nodded. “You are very welcome. It’s the least I can do for such a loyal fan.” 

She put her phone away with a shaking hand. “Your car is here,” she said. “I checked a second ago. When you’re ready, I’ll get security to make you a path.”

“Thank you, Mira. And may I say you would be well suited to being a personal assistant if that interested you, as well,” he suggested.

“Thank you, Mr. Irwin,” she barely mouthed. 

“Ashton, please.”

She nodded. The door opened and Calum led the way out, Michael in the middle. Calum stopped to place a hand on Mira’s shoulder and smile at her. Michael just threw his arms around her, enveloping her tiny body. She squeaked, then wrapped her arms around his waist just as tightly. 

“You are so loved, Michael,” she murmured. “So loved. And your fans are so proud of you. Not just for being an amazing human being, but for being so brave and being such an example for the rest of us.”

When he pulled away, his eyes were getting teary again. “Thank you,” he whispered back. She smiled and nodded, then stepped away to gesture imperiously at the security guards waiting at the door. Like a tiny four star general, she led them out to the idling car and glared down the crowd with their cell phones held high. Safely ensconced in the car, the four of them sat in silence all the way back to the hotel.

The girls could tell something was wrong. Well, Ellie could tell something was wrong. Lily didn’t seem to even want to engage. Matt said that Lily had been plastered to her phone right around the time the band started the interview circuit and probably couldn’t tell one thing that they’d sight-seen. 

Ellie lap hopped, trying to make everything better with her beaming smile and her snuggles. It helped. Everyone smiled after having a cuddle with Ellie. Lily, on the other hand, refused to come out of the girls’ room. She sat on her bed and endlessly scrolled through whatever she was watching with an angry frown on her face. 

After two hours of that, Michael finally came in and sat on the side of her bed. “You know I try to respect your privacy, Lily,” he said, softly. “But I have to tell you that I’m concerned over how angry you’ve been all afternoon. All day, really, according to Matt.”

“Well, Matt needs to shut his piehole,” Lily snapped. “And you need to mind your own business.”

Michael sighed. “Sunshine, what—”

“Why the hell do you call me that?” Lily interrupted, her phone hitting the bed beside her. “I mean, I can see Ellie. She’s the flower girl. Petal makes sense. But I’m clearly the _opposite_ of _sunshine_.” 

“Does…it upset you?” Michael asked, trying to hide the hurt in his voice. Clearly, it didn’t work because Lily sighed hugely and jerked her phone back up. 

“No. It’s just stupid because it doesn’t fit me. I—Just go away, Michael. I’m busy.”

His shoulders slumped and he nodded. “Okay,” he agreed, softly. “We’re gonna head out to the venue in about 30 minutes.”

“Whatever,” she replied. And he quietly shut the door behind him. Lily bit the inside of her cheek until she tasted blood to keep the burn of tears confined to her eyes.


	17. Chapter 17

The Sound Stage was quite small, so the four band members and the interviewer were crammed in with all of the equipment sitting behind them. It put them pretty close to the crowd, which Ashton wasn’t happy about. He couldn’t control what people yelled up onstage. And they were close enough to be able to hear anything that was said. 

Luke and Calum seemed a bit wary as well. Michael was still despondent over his talk with Lily, so he just sat quietly unless he was asked a direct question. The interviewer must have heard about the two previous interviews, because he very pointedly did not mention anything about the girls or the boys’ relationships. 

Ashton spent most of the interview chattering away, dropping names and industry phrases until the interviewer was clearly lost. Eventually, the man just introduced their set and let them get on with it. As Ashton moved back to his drums, he caught Ellie’s eye. He grinned at her and blew her a kiss which made the whole audience aww. She squealed, jumping up and down like the rest of the fans.

He could see Luke leaning in, poking at Michael’s guitar as he whispered something to him. Since Ash knew Michael would never set foot on stage unless his instruments were in perfect, ready condition, he guessed that Luke was giving Michael encouragement, or maybe just telling him he loved him. The fond, embarrassed smile on Michael’s face told him it was the latter. The audience also awed at that, which loosened up Luke and made him smile brightly at them. 

The set went very well. Ashton could see Ellie and Lily through the break between Luke and Michael. Ellie was screaming her head off and clapping like the rest of the fans. Lily stood silent, expressionless. Except when Michael started singing _Jet Black Heart_. Ashton didn’t think she even noticed the tears rolling down her face until the song was over. Then, she roughly smeared them away and spent the rest of the last song glaring at her feet. 

After the set, they were quickly bundled out the door to the cars that were taking them back to the hotel. Apparently, word had gotten out where they were staying because the sheer number of people lined up outside the hotel’s main entrance was kind of freaking even the boys out. 

“Jesus,” Calum breathed. “What the hell? Is every reporter in the city out there?”

“I think so,” Luke replied, flinching away from the flashes that had begun before the car even came to a stop. “Ellie, I’m gonna carry you, baby,” Luke said, unbuckling her from the booster seat. “I want you to put your face in my neck and let my hair hide you, okay?” Ellie nodded, wide eyed as the screams got louder when the front door opened. “Calum, walk behind us, please,” Luke said, as he stepped out of the car and turned back around to pick Ellie up.

“Lily—" Michael started. 

“No,” Lily snapped. “You are _not_ carrying me. I am 10. I can walk by myself.”

“This isn’t about… please, Lily. Can I at least hold onto your hand?” Michael begged. 

Lily looked like she was about to protest even that when Ashton caught her eye. He raised an eyebrow and shook his head. She sighed. “Fine. Hold my hand, then.” Ashton climbed out first, then Michael. Michael held his hand out to her and tugged her up next to him as they began pushing through the crowd. 

Michael could feel his palms begin to sweat. He was pretty used to being crowded up on in public places. Nothing like the One Direction boys, of course, but he’d had his fair share of shit-I-think-I’m-gonna-hyperventilate moments since they hit it big. This, though? This was fucking insane. He couldn’t really see where he was going. The tiny path ahead of him Ashton had made was closing quickly and the flashes of the cameras were leaving huge spots in his vision. The questions being screamed at him made him alternately want to crawl under a rock and punch someone in the face. 

Ashton had just totally disappeared in front of him, when he felt Lily’s hand jerk in his. He automatically tightened down on it, but thanks to his sweaty palms, her small hand just slid out of his…and she was gone. He spun around instantly. 

“Lily! he shouted, panicking. “ _Lily_! He could hear his name being faintly called by a familiar high-pitched voice, and he headed that way. He pushed past bodies, shoving himself into tiny openings, calling out as he went. “Lily! Where are you? Lily? Lily!” Then, over the cacophony of shouted questions and screaming fans, he heard it. 

“Daddy!!” 

He stopped trying to squeeze himself through openings. He just dropped his head and rammed right through. He could hear pained grunts as he elbowed people; shouts of anger as he shoved people. He felt someone go down and he just jumped over them, bellowing out, “Lily!” as he went. The people seemed to thin out and Michael took advantage of that, throwing people out of his way as he barreled on toward Lily’s voice. 

Suddenly, he was in a loose ring of people, and his daughter was in front of him. A large, bearded man was leaning over Lily, shoving a microphone in her face. Her eyes were terrified. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and he could see that she was shaking from five feet away. 

He took two steps and launched an uppercut right in that reporter’s face. The man stumbled backwards and hit the ground, hard. Michael didn’t stop to see if he was going to get back up again. He surged forward and swooped Lily up in his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest as he shoved a pathway back to the hotel. 

People were quicker to get out of his way, this time, and it was a matter of seconds before he’d reached the other end of the crowd. Calum and Ashton and Matt were standing up front, worriedly searching the crowd for Michael and Lily. Luke hovered behind them; Ellie’s face still pressed into his neck. When they caught sight of him carrying Lily, the fear faded into relief, but only for a moment. All three hands-free men stepped up, pulling Michael and Lily into a protective embrace.

“Is she okay?” Calum asked, running his hand over Lily’s hair. “Are _you_ okay?”

Michael squeezed Lily tightly and turned his head to kiss her temple. “Baby, I’m gonna give you to Cal, okay? He’s gonna take you to the room. You’ll be safe.”

“No!” Lily moaned into his ear. “Don’t leave me!”

“Baby girl, no!” Michael crooned. “No, I promise I’m not. Sunshine, I have to say something to these people. I have to, or they’ll do this every time they see you. Please, baby, let me do this for you. I promise I will be up right after you. Cal will take you to Ellie and Luke. You’ll be safe and I’ll be right there.”

Still sobbing, Lily nodded and allowed Cal to pry her arms off of Michael’s neck. Ashton pulled her legs loose from Michael’s waist and nodded at Matt to follow Calum and Luke into the building. Michael turned back to the crowed, rage dancing in his eyes. Ashton stood behind him, resting his hand on Michael’s back. 

“You wanted a sound bite?” Michael roared. “Let me give you a fucking sound bite!” The noise faded to a whisper as fans stared bewildered, having never in eight years seen Michael angry. Paps continued flashing their cameras, but the shutters were the only sound as mics were directed toward him. 

“It is _never_ okay to shove a microphone in a child’s face and demand comments! And in _no_ place in this fucking world is it okay to drag a little girl out of her father’s hands and haul her off into a crowd, I don’t care _how_ fucking important you think your life-altering question is. You have just terrorized the most bad-assed 10-year-old I know to tears. That is not _fucking_ okay! _Ever_!”

He took a deep breath. Then another. “I would like to apologize to the people I trampled, and those that I injured,” he continued, a bit more calmly. “I am truly sorry. I panicked when I heard my daughter screaming my name in terror after someone ripped her out of my fucking arms.” He glared through the crowed as if he could still see that man and his shitty beard with his fucking microphone. 

“If anyone is in need of medical attention, I will gladly cover it. However, to the fucker that took her, and who I subsequently _punched in the face_ , you can pay your own medical bills. And please,” he sneered. “Go ahead and sue me. I’d love to know your name so I can press assault charges on my daughter’s behalf.”

Michael seemed to run out of steam and his breath clogged in his throat. Tears began pouring down his cheeks and he roughly dashed them away. He couldn’t choke out anything even resembling words and Ashton lifted his hand to the back of Michael’s neck. He tugged slightly and Michael let him guide him into the hotel. The door shut behind them, cutting off some of the noise, but the flashing of cameras still lit up their faces. A sob broke out of Michael’s mouth and Ashton yanked him down into a hug, wrapping his arms around Michael’s waist and murmuring quietly into the side of Michael’s head. 

Eventually, Matt came trotting back over and Ashton nodded at him before slowly peeling Michael off of him. “C’mon, buddy, we’re gonna get you up to your room,” he said, softly, leading Michael to the elevator. 

“Luke and Cal have Ellie in your room, Mike,” Matt offered. “Lily refused to go. Said she would just scare Ellie. We tried to get her to move. She just said she was…waiting for her daddy. That he’d be right there and he promised she wouldn’t be alone.”

Michael sobbed harder, leaning into Ashton’s shoulder again, and Ashton could hardly blame him. It would be sad to hear from any child who had been denied the love and protection of a parental figure. That it was one of their own? And Ashton may not be dad material, but he sure as hell took his Uncle duties seriously. “Okay, Mikey, you gotta calm down, buddy. You have to go see Lily. She’s gonna be scared.”

Michael nodded, wiping his eyes and drawing in deep shuddering breaths. “We’re gonna go in through your room, Mike. You can get to Lily through the connecting door,” Matt said, pulling out the room key as he led the way. 

When he entered the hotel room, he was relieved to lay eyes on Luke and Calum sitting on the end of the bed with Ellie in between them. She wasn’t crying, but her eyes were red and she looked worriedly down at him as he dropped to his knees in front of her. “Are you all right, Petal?” he asked. 

She nodded and her eyes slid sideways to the connecting door. “Lily isn’t okay,” she whispered. 

He nodded, trying to force a smile on his face. “We’re gonna fix that, sweet girl,” he promised. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead then pushed up to his feet. “Luke, Cal….” His throat closed up on him and he looked helplessly at them. They stood, wrapping their arms around him. 

“It’s okay, Mikey,” Luke whispered. “We love you. We understand. Go help our girl.” He gave Michael a gentle kiss, offering strength through the press of their lips. Then Cal swooped in and captured his lips right after. They stood for a brief moment with their heads all touching, then Michael eased away. 

“I love you, Cal.” He smiled into deep brown eyes he’d loved looking into since he was 7. “I love you, Luke,” he caught Luke’s bright blue gaze, so different, but filled with the same love. “I love you, too, my Petal,” he leaned down to give Ellie one last kiss on her forehead before stepping away. “Thank you, Ashton. For being there for us. For me,” he offered up to the older man. 

Ashton nodded, a fond smile on his lips. “I love you, man.”

Michael smiled back. “I love you, too, Ashy. And Matt, thank you for everything you’ve done.”

Matt nodded. “Go get your girl, man.” 

Michael moved quickly to the connecting door and pushed it open. The room was dark, lit only by the bathroom light, and he couldn’t see Lily anywhere. He shut the door behind him. “Lily? Sunshine, you in here?” he asked, softly. A broken moan that sounded like it came from a dying thing floated out from behind the bed. He hurried to that side and his heart broke. 

Lily was curled up, pressed between the bed and the end table in a tiny ball. He reached out to her, pulling her gently from the small space. He fell back onto the bed holding her and pushed his way up to the headboard. Lily remained in a ball in his arms, so he set her on his lap and began running his fingers through her hair. 

“It’s okay, Sunshine,” he whispered. I’ve got you. “You’re okay, now. You’re safe.” He could see the digital clock from where he was laying, and it seemed bizarre that he was as exhausted as he was and it was still only 9 o’clock. 

He rocked Lily slowly, petting her hair and humming every fucking tune they’d ever written and gradually, she uncurled from her ball. She pressed her little arms around his chest and lay her head right over his heart. He kept petting and humming and rocking. Eventually, she slumped into him and he could feel the wet circles on his shirt. 

“Baby girl, you ready for bed?” he asked, glancing at the clock. It ticked over just past midnight. Lily tensed up again. 

“Please don’t leave me,” she whispered. “No, no, no, baby, I’m not leaving,” he reassured her. “Let’s get you changed into your pjs and your teeth brushed and then I’ll come lay with you, okay?” He waited for a good five minutes before Lily finally nodded. 

She held onto his hand as she moved into the bathroom and then sat on the side of the tub while Michael rifled through her bag, pulling out a fuzzy pair of pjs and her toothbrush. He was expecting for her to grab them, and was already prepared to turn his back for her, when she just raised her arms like Ellie. He hesitated only a second before gently tugging her shirt off. He quickly replaced it with her pajama top, pulling her hair out of the neckline and tossing the shirt back into her bag. She stood up and waited for him to lean over before balancing her hands on his shoulders as he tugged her jeans and panties down. He held her bottoms out and she stepped into them, leaning into him as he pulled them up snuggly around her waist. 

“Okay,” he said, softly. “You brush your teeth. I’m gonna text Calum to bring me my sleep pants and my toothbrush okay?” She nodded, wordlessly stepping up to the sink. He shot off a quick message, and he could tell that Cal and Luke were still awake, waiting for it because less than a minute later, the door cracked open. 

“Mikey? I have your things,” came Luke’s soft voice. 

Michael stepped to the door and took them with a kiss. “Thank you, babe.” 

Luke looked worriedly past him at Lily’s tiny form. “Is she doing better?” 

Michael nodded. “She’s better.”

Luke looked critically at him. “Are _you_ doing better? Ash told us what happened.”

Michael flushed. “Yeah. I…kind of went crazy. I’m sorry. There’s gonna be a shitload of cleanup to do from this clusterfuck.”

Luke shook his head. “Not a one of us disagrees with how you handled it, Mikey. Even Matt said his Zen was compromised,” Luke offered with a smile. 

Michael leaned in and kissed him again. “Thank you.” He felt a tug on his shirt and looked down to see Lily’s bright eyes, rimmed with red and swollen peering up at him. “Are you done, Sunshine?” he asked. She nodded. “Luke is gonna put you in bed while I change and brush my teeth, okay? I’ll be out in a few minutes and then we can climb in under the warm covers together, yeah?”

Lily nodded and moved into Luke’s arms. He hefted her up and kissed the side of her head. “Hey there, beautiful,” he smiled at her. “I missed you.” Lily laid her head on his shoulder as he walked her into the bedroom. 

Michael moved as quickly as possible, changing, brushing, then using the toilet and washing his hands. It wasn’t more than five minutes before he was standing by the side of the bed. Luke had tucked Lily in and was leaning up against the headboard, gently stroking her hair. 

“Here’s Michael,” he whispered to her, leaning down to give her a kiss. “Sleep well, beautiful.” Lily nodded and watched with big eyes as Luke and Michael kissed one last time before Luke quietly left the room. 

Michael climbed in and got comfortable before pulling Lily up next to him. She curled into his chest and heaved a huge sigh before falling asleep almost instantly. Michael dozed a bit, never quite going to sleep. Every so often, Lily would start to whimper in her sleep and he would tug her closer and whisper that she was safe, that he had her. 

Long about 3 am, she pulled him from his doze with a loud whine and an elbow to his ribs. He blinked himself awake and tugged her close. She started crying, shaking her head and trying to yank away from him. He sat up, and put his hand on her shoulder to shake her awake when she sat bolt upright in bed with a shriek, “Daddy!”

Michael wrapped his arms around her and drew her in to his chest. “Lily, baby, it’s me. It’s Michael. You’re okay, love. He’s gone. He can’t hurt you anymore. I have you.” She tilted her head up, eyes big with fear. “Hey,” he smiled softly. “Hey, there.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I’ve got you, Sunshine,” he reassured her. 

“Please don’t leave me, Daddy,” she whispered, tears shining in her eyes. 

Michael felt answering tears burning in his. “I will never leave you, sweetheart,” he forced out of a throat tight with emotion. “I love you, Lily. I love you and I will never leave you.”

Lily’s face crumpled and she threw herself into Michael’s chest, heaving great sobs that wracked her whole little body. He laid them back down together and, even after the tears stopped, held her close until the sun began peeking into the room. Seven o’clock and they both jumped a bit at the alarm clock going off in Luke and Calum’s room. 

“You ready to get up, Sunshine?” he whispered into her ear. “We have to be at the airport at 10. You could get a warm shower in while I order you something to eat.” Her arms squeezed him tighter in reflex, but after a moment, she loosened them and nodded against his chest. 

He threw the blankets off of them and she crawled out, heading for her bag. “What would you like for breakfast, sweetheart?” he called softly as she headed for the bathroom. She gave a shrug and then shut the door behind her. He ordered bacon and scrambled eggs with toast for her, making sure they added blackberry jam, and a large chocolate milk. Because if you couldn’t have choccy milk for breakfast after the shittiest night in history, when could you? 

He had it sent to the other room so she wouldn’t have to answer the door. As they traded places, he dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “Back in a minute, Sunshine,” he said, gently. She smiled weakly up at him and nodded. By the time he was finished, he heard another voice in the room, and figured one of the boys had brought in her breakfast. 

He had just cracked the door when he heard Calum’s voice. “So, why the tears, then, Princess?” Michael froze, wanting to kick himself for leaving her alone for even as long as a shower. 

“I’m crying because this is blackberry jam,” he heard, and he frowned. 

“Yeah?” Calum questioned. 

“He got me blackberry jam because he knows it’s my favorite,” came Lily’s voice, soft and low.

“Okay?” Calum sounded a little confused. 

“I never told him it’s my favorite.”

“Lucky guess?”

“No,” Lily disagreed, firmly. “He knew it was my favorite because dads know their kid’s favorites. It took 10 years.” He could hear the tears in her voice, now. “Ten years, but I finally have a dad who knows my favorite jam.”

“Aw, baby.” He could hear Calum gather her up in a hug and he stepped back, sitting on the side of the tub, trying not to start the day off crying again. It took nearly five minutes, but he finally had himself under control, and he stepped out of the bathroom. 

“Morning, love,” Calum smiled at him. Michael moved into his open arms and kissed him sweetly. 

“We about ready to head to the airport?” Michael asked. 

Calum nodded. “Yup. We have airport security waiting to take us right to the boarding area. You eating breakfast?” Calum asked. 

Michael shook his head. “Naw, not very hungry. I’ll get a coffee at the airport.”

In the end, he got two coffees. Big ones, full of more cream and sugar than coffee, but he was nearly falling asleep on his feet. He could tell the others were worried. And he guessed they had reason. He’d caught a glimpse of himself in the bathroom and concurred that he looked like warmed over shit. 

He dragged ass all the way onto the plane, and collapsed in his seat next to Ashton. The girls sat together behind them, and Calum and Luke sat behind them. Matt took the seat across the aisle from the girls. Or at least, that was how it had been on the trip over. They all assumed it would be a repeat back to LA. 

Just before the last group of passengers boarded, however, Lily appeared at Ashton’s elbow. “Hey, sweetheart,” he smiled. “Whatcha need?”

“Can I trade places with you, Uncle Ashton?” He blinked; a bit startled at the new moniker.

“I’d really like to sit with Dad.”

Ashton’s face melted into a smile. “That sounds good to me,” he answered softly, gathering his things to move to the seat behind himself. He plopped down next to Ellie with a big grin. “Hey there, seat partner,” he crowed at her. She bounced happily and laughed back. 

Lily slid into his abandoned seat, clipped her seat belt on and sagged against Michael’s shoulder. “You okay, Sunshine?” Michael asked, gently. 

She smiled weakly up at him and nodded. “Just tired. Can we lift the armrest?” Michael fumbled under the arm for a moment before it gave a click, and he lifted it up out of the way. Lily snuggled in against his chest and he dropped his arm over her shoulder. They were asleep, curled together, before the plane even took off. 

Calum and Luke spent the flight checking with their PR people—who weren’t pleased about adding assault onto the already staggering list of ‘things to deal with’, but grudgingly added that somehow, 5SOS in general and Michael in specific were coming off as unfairly maligned family men doing what was needed to protect their children—and scrolling endlessly through social media pages. 

Halsey had left a scathing rant bashing the medial outlet that dared to continue employing such a clearly loathsome toad as the reporter who touched Lily. Niall left his support both in public, _Sending out love today to @Michael5SOS and @Lily5SOS. Give that little one a hug for me!_ and in private, **I hope you broke that fucker’s nose! Fuck the paps! I’m sorry this shit happened, Mikey.**

Taylor Swift added, _Much love to my dear friend @Michael5SOS I’m saddened once again by the media’s assumption that celebrities are the public’s possessions, and that our children or loved ones must forfeit their safety and well-being simply by being related. #handsoffourkids_

Even Harry Styles shockingly took to social media to tweet _Children are precious. —H #lovetolily5SOS_ adding in a DM, **I hope Lily and Michael are well. Sorry this happened to them. Much love to you all –H**

The tag started by Taylor went on to be found on the likes of Ed Sheeran’s feed and Ariana Grande’s, as well. Their touring pals, The Chainsmokers, were much more inclined to verbally slam the media outlets, calling them fucking vultures. 

And their old friends Alex Gasgarth and Jack Barakat from All Time Low tweeted out _Standing united with you in this, brother. @Michael5S0S_ and _Let us know if you need anything, Mikey. We’re here for you, brother. @Michael5S0S_

Fans were absolutely livid. They’d ferreted out the name and media outlet that the reporter had worked for and were calling for his job. The hashtag _#JusticeForMichaelandLily_ was trending. The reporter in question had deleted his Twitter, Instagram and SnapChat. And it was only 8 A.M. on the west coast. 

Matt had sneakily taken pics of Lily curled into the protective circle of Michael’s arms as they slept and sent it to the other three boys. Ashton took the initiative to post the pic with the caption _It was a rough night in our little family, but we’re gonna be okay. Thank you to everyone for your support. You’re the best and we love you all!_

By the time the plane was circling the LAX, it had been liked over three thousand times and retweeted over a thousand.


	18. Chapter 18

Whether it was the badassery of Michael defending his daughter, whether it was the humanity of watching him lose his shit, then have a breakdown on camera, or whether it was the frequent—because Uncle Ashton knew best—posting of pics and family activities that endeared 5SOS to the world, one would never know. But the shock of 3/4 of 5SOS being gay, of them being in a thruple with one another, was replaced with the excitement of them becoming dads, the excitement of having a new record just weeks from release.

The radio stations and TV shows spent less and less time on their breakups and their new romance and more time asking how the girls were doing and when the album was going to come out. By the time they called it quits for the year and flew back to Australia for Christmas, things were almost 80% back to normal.

Their families had stayed just as in touch as the band members. They were linked from Karen Clifford falling in love with the Hemmings new puppy, to Joy Hood offering to watch Harry for Anne Marie when she had to work late. The band brought together more than just four goofy boys from Australia. And when there were two new family members—children, at that—not to mention the fact that three of the families were now tied together as in-laws, the annual Christmas barbie was insane. 

The two older Hemmings brothers and Mali-Koa came back home, as well. There was an actual caravan to the grocers. The boys, sans Ashton, stayed at the Hemmings’ house, but all the gifts had to be stored at the Clifford’s Granny house out back because there wasn’t enough room. 

The girls were wary at first. In the houses they’d stayed at before, large gatherings meant stay out of the way. But they quickly found out that here, it meant three sets of grandparents (and Anne Marie), all of whom wanted a special day with their new grandchildren. It meant sneaking out for ice cream with their uncles and going shopping with their aunts. It meant that when they secretly asked for help for their dads’ Christmas gift, Mali broke down in tears leaving Lauren to drive them home. 

It meant hours of laughter and arguing when they pulled the Christmas tree down from the attic and decorated it as a family. It meant learning what traditions were important to which families and celebrating ‘Christmas Morning’ three different times. It meant on December 25th, before everyone came over for the Christmas feast, that Michael, Luke, Calum, Lily and Ellie met out by the pool. 

“Alright ladies,” Luke smiled as he plopped down on the grass. “Your presents are back in LA because it made no sense to fly them all the way here for you to open then fly them all the way back. _But_ we wanted to show you what they were, so you’d still feel like you got Christmas.”

“That was before we realized how many fricking Christmases you were going to get,” Calum laughed. 

“Okay, so…,” Luke pulled out his phone and navigated around a bit. “Lily, this is the big one for you.” He held out the phone and Lily looked down to find a gorgeous acoustic guitar. Her breath caught in her throat. 

“No need for you to have to practice on some old beater Luke has hanging on the wall,” Calum grinned when Luke protested. “This is yours. It’s a Gibson original acoustic in ebony. I have it on good authority that our lead guitarist has already checked it out, and it plays beautifully.”

Michael flushed. “What? It was like dangling a puppy in front of Ellie. You couldn’t expect me not to touch.”

“It’s beautiful,” Lily breathed. “Thank you, so much. She hopped up and hugged each one of them.”

“Okay, Ellie, are you ready for yours?” Luke asked, pulling up her gift pic. 

“Yesyesyes!!!!” she shrieked. He turned it around. 

“Now, more than just this is your gift. It comes ‘fully stocked’.” Ellie gaped. 

Calum frowned a tiny bit. “Do you know what—”

“Lily, our daddies got me a greenhouse!” Ellie squealed. 

“I guess you do,” Calum laughed. 

“Thank you, thank you!” Ellie jumped up and hugged each of them, including Lily, who just smiled and rolled her eyes. 

“So, those are the big ones,” Michael stated after they sat back down. “There are a bunch of little gifts, too, but you can explore those when we get back home. There is something I wanted to give you now, though.” He looked hesitant. “A kind of thank you for joining the family, and also something to remind you…that you are both very loved. And we are all grateful to have you in our lives.”

“Michael picked them out,” Luke added with a fond smile. “But I think you’d have figured that out once you’d seen them.”

Michael pulled two small jewelry boxes out of his pocket and handed one to each of the girls. Ellie flipped hers open immediately and squealed again. She leaned over to show it to Lily. A small blue flower petal hung suspended in a clear, glitter-flecked resin. “Put it on me!” Ellie ordered. 

Lily grinned and set her jewelry box in her lap long enough to clasp the golden necklace around Ellie’s neck. “It’s so pretty, Daddy!” Ellie lunged at Michael and plastered kisses all over his face. He squeezed his eyes shut, laughing out loud until she exhausted her energy and dropped down between him and Calum. “Open yours, Lily!” she demanded. 

Lily obediently picked her box up and cracked it. She didn’t even get it all the way open before the tears sprang to her eyes. She snapped it shut and closed her eyes briefly. “Is…is it not…okay?” Michael asked, hesitantly. She opened her eyes up to see his worried face. She both hated that she was the cause of his worried face so often, and loved that she now had someone who worried about her. More than one someone, she turned her gaze on Calum and Luke. They looked less worried. Rather, Calum nodded at the box encouragingly.

She opened it back up and let the light hit the blazing crystal sun pendant. “It’s more than okay, Dad,” she smiled tearily. “It’s perfect. Put it on me, please?” Michael eagerly took it from her shaking fingers and hooked it around her neck. 

Ellie cheered. “Yay! I’m Petal and you’re Sunshine, Lily!”

“Yeah,” Lily smiled happily, sitting in the warm sun with her whole, loving family, celebrating the first holiday she’d ever looked forward to. “We are. Hey,” she hopped up. “Wait here.”

Ellie’s eyes got big. “Are you getting….?” Lily nodded and Ellie practically convulsed with joy. “Mali! Tell Mali!” she shrieked. Lily laughed as she took off for the house. Less than three minutes later, she came nearly skipping back, huge envelope in her hand. Mali followed her outside, but stood in the doorway. A moment later, and every window on that side of the house flew open and all the Hemmings family poked their heads out. 

The boys laughed in confusion. “What’s going on, girls?” Calum asked, with a wary smile. 

Lily dragged Ellie to her feet and pulled her into her side, wrapping her arm around her. “We got you something for Christmas, too,” Lily smiled. 

“Aunt Mali helped cause we’re too little,” Ellie piped in. 

“It’s not finished quite yet,” Lily continued. “You have to finish it, Dad,” she nodded at Michael. “Or…,” she hesitated slightly and shrugged. “Or, not. If you’d rather not,” she ended quietly. With another shrug, she held out the envelope to Michael. 

He took it, a worried frown on his face, and as he opened it, he exchanged looks with Calum and Luke. He pulled two bundle of papers out and held them where all three men could see it. In bold, blue letters at the top of the first, it read: **_Application to register a change of name for a child (under 18)_**

“What…what is this?” Michael asked, cautiously. 

“Page 9,” was all that Lily returned. 

He flipped to that page and bent the top papers over to the back. **New name of child: _New family name:_ Clifford-Hood-Hemmings _New given name(s):_ Lily Mae** His eyes widened and he handed the top bundle of papers off to Luke while he checked the second bundle. 

Sure enough, he found **_Application to register a change of name for a child (under 18)_** But on this page 9, he found **New name of child: _New family name:_ Clifford-Hood-Hemmings _New given name(s)_ : Eleanor Daisy**

He handed that one off to Calum and climbed to his knees. “Really?” he said, softly, looking at them both. “You really thought that there was the slightest chance I’d say no?” his voice sounded pained, and when Lily looked at him, his eyes were glassy. 

“I…I didn’t want to presume,” Lily babbled out. “I know that there must have been a reason you didn’t change our name to Clifford when you adopted us, but I….” She shrugged helplessly. 

“I thought you’d want to keep the only thing you had left of your mom,” Michael admitted, softly.

“Why?” Michael was starting to blur in front of her eyes. “She didn’t want to keep us. She didn’t fight for us. She didn’t give anything up for us. She didn’t care about us.” The pain in her voice showed all over her body. She hunched over slightly, like she was protecting herself. 

“She…she didn’t completely up-end her life to make room for us. She didn’t give up her girlfriend, her fiancé, her home for us. She didn’t take on the world to protect us, to claim us. She didn’t give us a place to be safe, people to be safe with. She never promised one thing in her life that she didn’t break. But you did.”

She looked up at him, desperate for him to understand. “You kept every promise you’ve ever made to us. You love us. You gave us the patience and the safety to love you back. And…and…” she was finding it hard to talk around the lump in her throat. “And you knew I liked blackberry jam, even when I never told you.”

Her voice broke on a sob and Michael lunged forward to wrap his arms around her waist. He pulled her into his chest and let her squeeze him so tightly it was painful. But he didn’t complain. He held on just as tightly to her, rocking her back and forth. He could hear Calum and Luke hugging and kissing Ellie next to him. 

“I love you, Lily Mae Clifford-Hood-Hemmings,” he whispered in her ear. 

“I love you, too, Daddy,” she whispered back. Long minutes later, she pulled away to wipe her face off with her sleeve. Tears were all over her face, Michael’s face, Michael’s shoulder and shirt. But the smiles on both of their faces were incandescent. 

“Me! Me! Me!” Ellie hollered, bouncing over to jump in Michael’s lap next. He laughed out loud, squishing her and tickling her until she squealed. Lily stepped over and was folded into a three-way hug with Calum and Luke. Eventually, the I love yous, the tears, the laughter petered out and they all sat back down, though in a tighter circle than before. 

“I got the idea from Uncle Ashton,” Lily admitted. “That first night, after you decided to be together, Uncle Ashton talked about the Cliffhoodings family. Aunt Mali took us to get the paperwork, and it’s all filled out except where you need to sign, Dad. If you’re okay with the names,” she still looked a bit skeptical.

“Baby girl, why would you think I wouldn’t be okay with it? Michael asked, a tiny frown between his eyes. 

She shrugged again. “Maybe you don’t like the Hood and Hemmings part. Or just think three last names are awkward.”

“I think it’s the most beautiful name I’ve ever heard,” he bumped shoulders with her. “My beautiful girls have my last name, and the last names of the two men I love most in my life. It ties all of us together. We were a family before, but now everyone can see it. Everyone knows who you belong to. This is the best Christmas present I’ve ever gotten in my entire life.”


	19. Chapter 19

In the weeks after Christmas, it seemed like all they did was promo. They were driving everywhere within three hours, and hopping a plane for everything else. They’d made sure to do their Australian promo while they were back for Christmas and, if nothing else, it had cemented for them that very few of their fans gave a shit who any of them were sleeping with as long as they were happy. 

They decided to take the extra step up from brief chats on the radio, to hit the talk show circuit. They carefully chose The Ellen Show, for obvious reasons, to promote the album and to give the first behind closed doors look into their lives.

The girls were sitting with Matt in the audience while the boys fidgeted in the green room. The first thing they all did, even Ashton, was catch the girls’ eyes and give them a smile. Luke waved at Ellie and she squealed like she was a 5SOS stan. 

After the first bit of introduction, Ellen finally settled into the nitty gritty. “So, it must be so frustrating for you to have this new album release colored by the drama that people have been putting on your personal lives,” she said, turning her body toward them and getting comfortable. 

Ashton fielded the first question, as he usually did anymore. “It really is frustrating,” he shrugged with a smile. “Who someone loves should have no bearing on their ability to sing or play an instrument. 5SOS has a totally badass lead singer,” he gestured at Luke, then went down the line. “Our lead guitarist is simply incredible on both the album and the vault versions of the songs. And our bassist’s massive multi talents are really showcased on this album.”

“Our drummer is lit AF, as well,” Luke adds, stirring up another round of applause.

“Thank you, Luke,” Ashton smiled. “So, it _is_ frustrating that the songs we spent so much time on, and poured our hearts into, aren’t out in front of the personal stuff as they should be.”

“Plus, it’s nobody’s damn business,” Ellen pointed out to another burst of thunderous applause. “The only question we should have as a 5SOS fans is…are you happy? Both with your lives, in general, and with your album?”

“We’re very happy,” Ashton offered with a beaming smile. “The presales on the album are skyrocketing. My brothers have found true happiness. And we have two amazing little additions to the family,” he smiled and waved at Lily and Ellie. The camera zoomed in on Ellie waving fiercely and Lily holding up a hand with a shy smile.

The crowd was so excited, they clapped for a full minute. The boys conferred in whispers, then Ashton leaned in and whispered to Ellen. Her face lit up and she jumped to her feet, holding her hands up for silence. 

“Okay, this is amazing. The guys have just suggested that the girls come up and join their family on stage! What do you think, everyone? Should we encourage them to come up?” The whole studio shook as the cheering and stomping escalated to an insane level.

Lily stood up holding Ellie’s hand, warily eyeing the horde of screaming people. They made their way to the front, and with a stagehand’s help, they were mic’d up. Ellie bounced up and plopped between Luke and Michael, while Lily sat between Calum and Michael.

“Well, hello, ladies!” Ellen grinned. Lily greeted her softly while Ellie chirped a hello. “Would you like to introduce yourselves?” Ellen offered.

“I’m Ellie!”

“I’m Lily.”

“Welcome Lily and Ellie.” Ellen waited for the clapping to die down a bit. “Now, how old are you two?”

“I’m five now,” Ellie bounces. “I just had my birthday.”

“Well, happy late birthday to you!”

“Thank you!” Ellie beamed. 

“And you, Lily? I’m 10, almost 11,” she said, softly.

“Wonderful,” Ellen smiled. “So, Ellie, I imagine you aren’t in school yet, are you?”

“Nope!” Ellie shook her head fiercely. “But my daddies are teaching me so I’m ready for kinderbargen when school starts.” The audience and Ellen both awed at her adorableness. 

“And you, Lily,” Ellen continued. “How do you manage school when your dads are on the road so often? They take you with them, don’t they?”

Lily glanced up at Michael smiled. “They do, yeah,” she answered, quietly. I do online schooling.”

“Is that hard?”

“No, it’s pretty easy,” Lily shrugged.

“And what grade are you in? 4th? 5th?” Lily hesitated, her eyes searching out Michael’s again. He smiled encouragingly and reached out to pat her hand, proudly. 

“I’m…I’m actually starting my first year of high school.” Ellen blinked and her jaw dropped. 

“My sister is really smart,” Ellie grinned. 

“Apparently so!” Ellen smiled hugely as the audience clapped.

“What’s your favorite part of traveling with your family?”

Ellie scrunched up her face. “That’s hard.” Everyone laughed. “There’re so many good foods. And everyone is so nice. And we get to fly on airplanes. And sometimes our puppies get to come.”

“You have puppies?” Ellen asked, her eyebrows high, clearly loving Ellie’s enthusiasm. 

“Oh, yes!” Ellie nodded fiercely. “We have Petunia—”

“Piggy!” someone called out from the audience, and the boys chuckled. 

“And Duke, and Moose Moose!”

“Wow!” Ellen looked impressed. 

“Southy!” someone else shouted, and the whole couch fell silent. 

Ellen noted that things had just gotten a little uncomfortable. “Okay,” she said, eyeing the crowd and her guests. “I don’t quite know what just happened, but let’s keep it down out there and let our guests share.”

Michael smiled weakly. “It’s okay, Ellen. Southy was one of my dogs when I was with Crystal. Unfortunately, he didn’t come with me in the move. He was more closely bonded with Crystal, and while it was painful separating Moose and him, he’s happier with Crystal than he would be in a rowdy house full of kids and other dogs.”

“Ah,” Ellen nodded. “Well, thank you for sharing that, Michael. I’m sure it’s still pretty tough to talk about.”

“Yeah, well, there’s a lot of that going around, lately,” Michael ducked his head and huffed out a humorless laugh. 

Ellen looked like she commiserated with him, then moved into something she hoped would be less painful. “So how are you girls handling the whole touring lifestyle? Do you get lonely?”

Ellie shook her head and frowned a little. “Why would we get lonely?”

“Well, do you miss having other kids to play with?” 

Ellie shrugged. “We’ve never really had other kids to play with. I like playing with Lily and my Daddies and Uncle Ashton and Matty, though!” 

Ellen looked a little confused, but gave a smile and a nod anyway. “Have you been interviewed by anyone else, yet? Or do I get to claim firsties?”

Ellie shook her head and clapped. “Firsties!”

Lily looked a bit hesitant. Ellen inclined her head and raised her eyebrows. “Lily?”

“Well, there was one other…interview, I guess you could call it. Ellie wasn’t there; it was just me.”

Ellie’s mouth opened in an ‘o’ and her eyes widened. “Tell her!” she stage-whispered, not seeming to realize that the microphones picked it up. Lily froze and darted her eyes first to Michael, then to the audience. “Lily!” Ellie leaned over and poked her in the leg. “You said you wanted to tell someone on the TV. So, tell _her_!”

Ellen shot a look at her audience as the sound dropped to zero. “You’re certainly free to say anything you want, Lily, but we understand if something is too personal. You don’t have to tell us anything,” she offered, giving a smile at Michael’s grateful look.

Lily took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a second. “No,” she said, softly. “Ellie’s right. I’ve been wanting to say something since last summer. Wanting to set the rumor mills straight. I said I’d do it. I should always keep my word. Especially to myself.”

“Well, that’s a good policy to have, but maybe you want to talk to your dads a minute?” Ellen encouraged, carefully. 

Lily winced. “No. Ellie and I talked it over, and they’d just try to protect us.” All four men glanced from the girls to each other with concerned frowns. “So, I do have something to say, but it might run over the time you have set aside for the interview.”

Ellen shook her head. “Honey, I will personally toss every last thing I had planned for this episode if you need me to. But I want to protect you, too. So, is there anything I can do to make this less scary for you?”

Lily shook her head, but Ellie chose to climb into Luke’s lap and curl nearly into a ball. The boy’s looks got a bit more freaked out. Ellie gave a weak smile and a nod to Lily, and Lily looked out over the audience. She snuck her hands into Michael’s and Calum’s laps and grasped their fingers, and they automatically wrapped their hands around hers and exchanged anxious looks over her head.

“So,” she began. “A few months after we were adopted, all of us were coming out of a venue, heading to a hotel. It was loud and crazy and the first time either me or Ellie had ever seen _anything_ like the mob of fans and reporters that were hanging out waiting for a glimpse of our dads and uncle. In the middle of the crowd, I got separated from my dad by a reporter who grabbed me. 

Ellen looked nervously at Lily as all of the boys tensed up. “The reporter had pulled me away from my dad to ask me a question. Until today, I’ve only ever told Ellie what that question was.” She took a deep breath and lifted her chin. “He asked me how I felt about living in the same house with three men who had sex with each other in the room next to me.”

There was an audible hiss as nearly everyone in the audience sucked in a breath or gasped one out. Michael’s hand tightened on Lily’s until both their fingers went white, but she refused to look at him. Calum muttered, “Lils,” and she ignored him, too. 

“Today, I’d like to answer that man’s question.”

“Lily!” Luke hissed, clutching Ellie closer. The close-up camera caught the glimmer of tears in Lily’s eyes as she staunchly continued staring forward. 

“Before I answer the question, though, I have a bit of back-story to give to you. Some ‘true facts’ that no one knows, but everyone seems to have an opinion on.” Her voice was a bit tight from the tears she wanted to shed, but she swallowed and took a deep breath.

“By the time I was four, I could tell you the going price for an 8-ball of cocaine.” Lily could feel Michael and Calum catch their breath next to her. “I could tell you the dealers that sold the good stuff, and the ones that cut their product with shit that could kill you.”

All four men on the couch muttered, “Language,” at the same time and Lily’s eyes got even shinier as a fond smile shot across her face. The audience went from looking horrified to practically cooing again.

“Sorry, dads,” she returned, settling closer in to Michael. “I also learned the value of practically everything in my home. Generally, as it walked out the door to fund another coke party my mother was hosting with her…boyfriends. 

“By the time I was five, we had lost the TV, the stereo, the microwave, the kitchen table, all of my toys and I literally had my bed sold out from under me. Like, I woke up to two large men lifting me off of the bed and putting me down on the floor beside it. I watched them break down my bed and walk off with it.” Most of the audience had their hands over their mouths in horror.

“I didn’t have a mom. I had a drug addicted roommate who partied every night and slept all day. Occasionally, she remembered to buy food, but only if I reminded her. The first things I remember learning how to write were grocery lists. I’d try to copy the words on the packages of ramen and mac and cheese and leave them on a list wrapped around my mother’s lighter.”

She shrugged. “I didn’t have a mom, but I became one. My mother got pregnant again. I was pretty sure both she and the baby would die before the first trimester. But they didn’t, and Eleanor Daisy Hallings was born, surprisingly not addicted to coke. And she was beautiful.” Lily smiled over at Ellie, who preened as she always did when Lily told her the story of her birth. 

“I might have been six, but I realized that babies needed more care than my mother was going to give her, so I took over. I learned how to steal formula from grocery stores. I knocked on neighbors’ doors and begged for clothes to fit her. I hid my mother’s drugs until she took Ellie to the doctor for her shots. 

“I managed pretty well, considering I’d started just first grade at the time. But, somehow, someone found out and we were taken from our mother for the first time when Ellie was six months old. It wasn’t awful. We ate regularly for the first time. Ellie had doctor visits. I was awful about being the one to take care of her, though. It had always been my job, and I wasn’t going to let anyone else do it. 

“But…four foster homes and six months later, my mother was awarded custody of us again on the word of some hack doctor, who swore my mother was rehabilitated and no longer on drugs. She hid it very well. It took another year before they caught her again. By that time, I was eight and Ellie was two. She was the most perfect angel alive.” She smiled again at Ellie; whose thumb had now made its way to her mouth.

The boys were all staring numbly at Lily: Luke squeezing Ellie, Ashton with his hand on Luke’s knee, Calum with the hand holding Lily’s slightly shaking. Michael was actually crying; silent tears that streaked his face and dripped off of his chin. The audience was dead silent and even Ellen was tearing up, holding her hand over her mouth like most of the audience.

“I, on the other hand, was turning into the spawn of Satan. I was mouthy and rude. I was physically violent with anyone who attempted to take over momming my sister. I cursed, I broke things, I was verbally abusive to any and everyone. So much so, that the next 12 months we were in foster care, we went through 14 foster homes.

“Then, my mother got us back. I was nine. Ellie was three. For the first three months, she managed to hide her drugs from me. Which was actually kind of hard. I was pretty in the know by that point. But then, furniture started disappearing again. She was selling everything in the house. Then, when she ran out, she started selling herself. 

“Every night, I wedged a fork into the lock to keep her drugged-up, drunk clients from barging into mine and Ellie’s room. I learned how on the computer at school. YouTube is pretty helpful,” she smirked. 

“Eventually, she couldn’t make enough to keep her habit up, and she tried to sell me.” The gasps from the audience were hushed, as though they didn’t want to break the silence. On the other hand, the guttural sob that broke free from Michael’s chest was heartbreaking. Luke’s hand flew over to wrap around Michael’s neck and Calum transferred Lily’s hand to his other so he could place his arm below Luke’s hand. Lily just squeezed Michael’s hand reassuringly.

“I clearly wasn’t having any of that. I took Ellie and I went to the police. They threw us back into foster care, and I turned 10 in the 10th foster house in six months. I didn’t know it then, but the social workers had started looking up family members because we’d… _I’d_ exhausted the homes that were willing to take two little girls, especially ones like me: too smart for my own good, violent, and to quote my social worker, ‘unredeemable’. 

“They found my mother had an older sister. My mother was estranged from everyone she’d ever known, so this sister had no idea what was going on with us. She wasn’t able to take us for health reasons, but she called her son. He lived in America with his fiancé and was quite well off, perhaps he’d take us. And so, Michael Clifford learned that he had two shirttail cousins who desperately needed a home. Two cousins who’d blown through 28 foster homes in a little over three years.”

She turned to look at him proudly, tears and all. “And he didn’t hesitate. He started adoption proceedings right away, so we could move to America with him. And a few months later, he was a dad to two children he’d never even seen a picture of. He hopped on a plane to come get us right in the middle of making their newest album. 

“When he got to the house, I could hear the social worker telling him they’d understand if he decided he only wanted to take Ellie. I thought, well, I guess that saves me from having to tell him myself. But he got so angry with them. He said that was disgusting, and maybe it was them that had the problems. I wanted so badly to start hoping right then, but I learned early on that hope wasn’t for me. 

“He took us to breakfast. Told us all about his fiancé and his dogs and his best friends. And I was a _total_ brat. I was mean. I said horrible things. I wouldn’t let him near Ellie. I’m so ashamed of how I acted, Dad,” she said, blinking her own tears back as she looked over at Michael. He lifted her hand to his lips and she could feel the wetness of the tears running down his face, warm against her knuckles. 

“He gave me his phone to play with on the plane. I didn’t tell him, but I broke into his emails and his DMs.” Michael gave a snort of laughter against her fist, and she gave a small what-did-you-expect smile. 

“I wanted to see how he really felt about us. I was totally shocked when I saw how honest he’d been about looking forward to seeing us. He and the other guys in the band had been texting about pretty much nothing else for weeks but how excited they were to meet us. I also found Crystal’s texts.” Michael gave a low whine and his eyes closed as his head dropped a minute bit.

“I guess she was pretty honest, too,” Lily chuckled. “She flat out said she ‘didn’t want any crack-whore’s kids living in her home’. She didn’t want kids at all. And that he’d ‘better leave us at the airport if he expected to get in the house’.” The audience’s murmurs grew heated. 

“When we got to the house, she’d locked us out. Locked _him_ out. He stepped away to make a call. I thought for sure, he’d call the car back to get us. But he’d called his friends, Luke and Calum, for help. We got in that car together, and this man drove away from a three-year-relationship with the woman he was going to marry…for us.

“ _Then_ , I found out that Luke’s girlfriend had a similar opinion about us as Crystal when Luke told her that Michael and we girls were moving in. And so…Luke dumped her on the spot. He told her to be out by the time we got home.” 

She frowned and looked deeply into the audience, and at the camera in front of her. “I don’t know if I can truly tell you what that felt like. No one… _No. One…_ wanted us, including our own mother. And here were two men who just… _ended_ long term relationships with their girlfriends _for us_. And then _another_ man who moved out of his own house to help take care of us.

“And, like an idiot, I still fought it every step of the way. I didn’t believe. I couldn’t trust them. But they tried, all of them, _so hard_ to prove it every day. Eventually, I stopped outright trying to get kicked out, but I still didn’t trust. I still didn’t believe. Then came that evening where we were trying to get back to the hotel. 

“Luke picked up Ellie to carry her, and Cal was behind them to help keep her calm. I said I wasn’t a baby, and didn’t need anyone. Michael practically begged me to hold his hand. He said he knew I could take care of myself, and he actually looked kind of scared. I thought it was total BS, but I figured I’d do anyway, just to shut him up. 

“We got halfway to the door and the crowd just…closed in on us. I was quietly freaking out. Then that reporter grabbed my arm. Really hard. I had bruises. He jerked me backward and Michael—my dad--lost his grip on me.”

She paused and swallowed hard. “I have been alone most of my life. But I have _never_ felt more alone than when I felt my dad’s hand slip out of mine. I was terrified. The crowd closed back up around us and I was trapped. I called out for my dad, and I heard him calling my name back. But that man had a death grip on my arm. 

“Everyone was crushing me into him, and he shoved his microphone in my face. He hit my teeth with it. Then he demanded I tell him how I felt about living with three men who had sex with each other. He kept repeating it, getting closer and closer into my face. I was _so_ freaking scared.” She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, reliving that terror.

“Then, I heard people crying out. I heard my name. People just started flying backwards, and then my dad was there. He punched that reporter right in the face and jerked me up. And I didn’t say a single word about being held like a toddler. I just wrapped my arms and legs around my dad and let him bulldoze us to safety, while I sobbed into his collar.

“He got us to the hotel, to safety. He handed me off to Daddy Cal who rushed us up to the room. I knew I was scaring Ellie, but I couldn’t stop crying. When my dad got to the room, Daddy Luke and Daddy Cal took Ellie to the adjoining room for the night, and Michael--my dad, held me, rocking me while we both cried. We fell asleep like that. He held me all night. Protected me from my own dreams when I cried and screamed myself awake.”

“So,” she sniffed, wiping a stray tear from her cheek onto her shoulder, because she refused to turn loose of either Michael’s or Calum’s hands. “Now that you have a bit of backstory, let me answer the question that man asked that night. ‘How do I feel about the three of them having sex?’ Well,” she shrugged and gave a humorless snort of laughter. “How do _you_ feel about your parents having sex? 

“Intellectually, I am aware that they _must_ have it. They’re in love and that’s what people who are in love do. But, have I ever seen it? Of course not.” She looked into the camera disgustedly. “They’re affectionate with each other, but they don’t molest one another in front of their children. When they go to bed, they make sure we are safe and comfortable. Then they shut their door and turn on the walkie-talkies they bought us.

“If we need our dads, we know how to call them. And, in return, we respect their privacy and their time alone together. These three men have given us stability, safety, protection. They’ve provided us comfort, patience, understanding and _unconditional love_. Together, they support each other. They help each other. They stand up for, and stand up with, each other. They love each other. And they love us. 

“So, I hope that answered your invasive, trivial, nasty question, Mr. Reporter. Because if I am _ever_ asked such a question again, by _anyone_ , I can guarantee your particular media outlet will _never_ have even a single question answered by this band or this family again.”

Though she stopped speaking, the silence held. It wasn’t until Ellen dropped her hand and slumped back into her chair with a, “Holy crap,” that it was broken. The crowd went absolutely insane. They were whooping and clapping and wiping tears and laughing. Ellen waved a vague hand at the camera and stared into it, pole-axed. “Uh…we’ll be back after the break?” she managed, still sounding unsure. 

When she turned back to her guests, they were in one large pile in the center of her sofa. Michael had slipped down to the floor and was on his knees, arms wrapped around Lily, and visibly crying into her shoulder even as she cried into his. Calum had one arm around them and the other buried in Luke’s hair. Luke clutched at Ellie as he leaned into Lily’s back, crying himself. Ashton had one hand on Ellie’s head and the other on Luke’s back. He wasn’t crying, but rather beaming at the lot of them embracing each other. 

It took nearly 10 minutes before they could be pried apart, during which, Ellen and her audience watched with fond, teary eyes. Her assistants brought out tissues and waters and everyone finally settled back into their seats. Ashton smiled over at Ellen and nodded. “I think we’re ready.”

Ellen raised her eyebrows, but shrugged and gestured to the camera. “Okay, welcome back everyone. We are talking with 5 Seconds of Summer and their family. Before the break, we had quite the unexpected and emotional experience of hearing how the girls came to be in the family. I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say, you girls are so brave and so strong and deserve only the best. Which I think you’ve gotten in the form of your dads and uncle here next to you.”

The girls beamed at their family as they nodded vigorously. “So, boys,” Ellen gave a wide-eyed head shake. “There were a lot of surprises in that segment.” She pulled her legs up into her chair and got comfortable again. “Not the biggest, but one of the more interesting being that the story of you three, Michael, Luke and Calum, getting together, previously being together, sounds nothing like the—” she cleared her throat as she coughed out the word “bullshit—story we got from Crystal and Sierra last year.”

The audience tittered and those on the couch smiled wryly. “I think the story the ladies provided might have had a little bit of injured dignity and antagonistic vitriol behind it?”

Luke snorted. “Is that the new PC way of saying they got even because they were mad as hell at us?” Ellen shrugged with a smirk. 

“I don’t blame her,” Michael interjected, quietly, and all eyes fell onto him. “Crystal,” he clarified. “I admit, I was at fault for…a lot of it.” Cal frowned and leaned forward, looking like he was going to argue. “I was,” Michael said, firmly, glancing at him. 

“I went into the relationship with her for all the wrong reasons. In my head, I knew why we three had broken up, but I internalized it. Suddenly, it wasn’t about giving the right image for the band; it wasn’t about taking a step back. It was all about how _I_ wasn’t enough to keep them. So, when Crystal and I started dating, and she discovered parts of me that she…didn’t like, I wasn’t that hard to convince that there really was something wrong with me. I let her change me and I was grateful for it. 

“Honestly, I treated the whole relationship like a self-help course,” he turned his mouth down, sadly. “I was fond of her, but I didn’t love her; and, I felt guilty. So, I gave her everything she asked for. For our whole relationship, I agreed with everything she said, approved of everything she did, and provided her everything she wanted. Then came this outside request. It was huge. It was life altering. It should have been something that a couple decided together, and the first thing I did was share it with Luke and Calum.”

He smiled sadly. “I talked it over with them, and with Ashton, and by the time I presented it to her, I’d already made up my mind. Poor girl had spent years directing me and, out of nowhere, I suddenly found my backbone. I’m sure it was confusing and upsetting.”

He finished and looked up to see Ellen staring at him, flabbergasted. He flushed. “What?”

She blinked and looked away to the crowd. “Nothing!” She waved her hand like she was trying to wave the question away. “That’s just very…magnanimous of you.”

His flush grew deeper. “Not…not really,” he stammered. “I just don’t feel right pointing fingers when I wasn’t entirely in the right, either.”

“Just because you bought her the diamond encrusted knife, brother, doesn’t mean you’re at fault for her stabbing it into your back,” Ashton offered, to thunderous applause by the audience. 

Ellen grinned and held up a fist to Ashton, who bumped it with a returned grin. Michael sighed and gave a small smile to his older band mate. He shrugged and sat back. 

Luke leaned over and dropped a kiss on the side of his head. “Well, I’m not quite so magnanimous as Michael. Or as smart as Lily.” He frowned. “When we get backstage, you’re going to have to explain to me what magnanimous means,” he said in a loud aside whisper. Lily giggled and nodded. “I may have been an asshole,” Luke continued, but my ex trashed my master suite to the tune of 25 thousand dollars before she left. I think that was fair trade for a break-up.”

Ellen double blinked. “Twenty-five _thousand_ dollars?”

Luke nodded and shrugged. “Had to replace the bed, the shower, the toilet…”

“All the lamps,” Calum tossed in. “A couple of tables, the carpet, all his toiletries…”

“And the worst part…” Ashton held up both hands for attention. “His leather collection.”

Ellen gasped playfully, but the howls from the audience made her take a real one. “I guess your leather is sacred to your fans,” she laughed. Luke nodded mournfully. 

Ashton cackled. “I’m pretty sure more tears were shed over the loss of his favorite leather jacket than were shed over the relationship ending”. 

Luke shrugged again and nodded in amusement. “He’s not wrong. But Mikey got me a new leather jacket for Christmas.” He leaned over and rested his head on Michael’s shoulder, gazing lovingly up at him. Michael reached out and gently touched his cheek while rolling his eyes. 

“So, was the leather trashing what lead to the restraining order we heard so much about?” Ellen grinned. 

Luke sat back up, shaking his head. “No. We just cleaned the place up and moved on.”

Ellen’s looked confused. “Twenty-five thousand is a lot of money. If it wasn’t property damage, what was it for?”

Luke’s face turned to stone and Ellen hesitated. “If…if you don’t want to tell us...”

Luke shook his head. “No, that’s fine. She came back to the house a couple of days later. Lily met her at the door. She demanded to see me and when Lily told her I wasn’t there, she shoved Lily back out of the doorway and came on inside. Ellie ran to get Michael and he put himself between Lily and Sierra. When she thought the police were being called, she left. She trespassed in my house, put her hands on my daughter, insulted my family and then threatened my husband. That was much more important to me than some leather coats and lamps.”

Understandable, Ellen agreed, eyeing the crowd who’d started collectively…growling? at the news. 

“So, speaking of what you got for Christmas,” Ellen raised her eyebrows and smiled hugely as she pointedly moved on. “Did you all go home for the holidays?”

“We did!” Ashton grinned at her unsubtle efforts. “For the first time, we got all the families together and had a huge Christmas celebration.”

“Where do you all stay when you go home?”

“Usually, we just head to our parents’ homes, but this year, the three of us wanted to stay together,” Calum offered up. “Luke’s folks have the biggest house, courtesy of growing up with three boys. But, even so, with Jack and his girlfriend and Ben coming home, it was pretty crowded.”

“And my childhood bed was not made for three people,” Luke laughed. 

“Nope,” Calum agreed. “We ended up giving his bed to the girls and we camped outside in a tent.”

“Really?” Ellen laughed. 

“Yeah, it was pretty cool,” Calum grinned. 

“How did the parents like meeting their new granddaughters?”

Michael rolled his eyes. “As an only child, I thought I knew the definition of spoiled,” he said, smiling down at Lily and Ellie. “Clearly, I had no idea. Three sets of grandparents, Ash’s mum, Jack, Ben and Mali made for a ridiculous number of gifts to try to cram on the plane.”

“Did you get a lot of good stuff, girls?” Ellen waggled her eyebrows. 

“So much stuff!” Ellie squealed, bouncing. 

“What was your favorite gift, Lily?” Ellen prompted. 

Lily bit her lip, and looked up at her dads and her uncle, then reached over and took Ellie’s hand. “My favorite gift,” she said, softly, “was having a family to spend Christmas with.”

“Well, that’s it,” Ellen threw up her hands. “You are officially media-trained with that answer.”

Lily grinned back and shrugged. “Everything I know not to do, I learned from these four when they were idiot teenagers.”

“Hey!” Ashton protested loudly. 

Calum grinned. “That’s actually pretty accurate. If it was stupid, we probably did it.” Ashton reluctantly agreed, winking at Lily. 

“All, right, folks, my producer is waving at me. That’s all we have time for today. I want to thank our guests 5 Seconds of Summer; their guests, Lily and Ellie, and all of _you_ for being a great audience. Thank you, and be kind to one another!”


End file.
